Significant construction milestone reached for Berwick's new £35million hospital project

A large proportion of the hospital’s services infrastructure and fit-out will be built off-site at the factory of Merit Health, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s appointed construction partner, in Cramlington.

And the trust has announced today (Tuesday) that the process of manufacturing 650 pre-assembled modules (PAMs) weighing around 195 tonnes in total and 17 UltraPODs weighing around 300 tonnes, using this modern method of construction, has now started.

It is hoped that the new hospital will open towards the end of next year.

In addition, a public drop-in session is taking place in Berwick town centre next week for people to find out more and meet the project team.

Marion Dickson, Northumbria Healthcare’s executive director for nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals, and project lead, said: “We are absolutely delighted that we have reached this very significant milestone and that the construction of our fantastic new hospital has begun.

“We have to acknowledge the very long time that people have waited for this and we thank every single person involved for getting us to this point.

“Our staff have been incredibly resilient over the last three years especially, coping with a global pandemic and all the work that has been done on the Berwick Infirmary site. Local residents and communities have been very patient too and we appreciate that.

“Our new hospital will not only provide top quality healthcare well into the future, but will also provide a much-improved environment for our staff and patients.

Work to level the site and dig out the hospital footprint will start within the next few weeks and should be done by early summer. The foundations will then be laid and the steel frame of the building will be erected.

The PODs will house all mechanical, electrical and plumbing services. This will include power, lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and fire alarm systems.

The PAMs, which will sit underneath the PODs in the ceiling framework, will act as the distribution network for the services into the hospital building.

Mark Brough, Merit Health’s project manager, said: “One of the main benefits of our off-site approach to construction is that work on-site and in our factory is done in parallel, meaning that projects can be completed a lot quicker than the traditional build model.

“A very special part of the project will be when what has been manufactured in the factory, especially the PAMs and PODs, are transported to site. It is quite a spectacle to see!

“We will of course keep everyone updated on the progress of the scheme and we will let people know if they are going to be impacted in any way.”

Once the main build is complete, demolition of the remaining old hospital buildings, with the exception of the clock tower, will be carried out. The car park and access roads will be built and landscaping work completed.

The drop-in event is being held on Thursday, March 9, between 2.30pm and 7pm, at the William Elder Building, 56-58 Castlegate.

Mrs Dickson added: “I hope to see lots of people at our public drop-in session.

“It is really exciting that we will have a new endoscopy suite and we are also considering services including colposcopy, audiology and dental services.”