11 March 2010
Proposals to spend more than £200 million on a much needed redevelopment of St Helier Hospital took a major step forward last night when Sutton Council approved the Trust's outline planning application.
The plans include demolishing a large part of the hospital and replacing it with a state-of-the-art building which will house the majority of the hospital's wards and clinics. The new building will include 346 beds, with more than 50 per cent being in single rooms.
In addition, nearly £40 million will be spent on upgrading the remainder of the site, including those wards which will not be moved into the new building. There will also be a new central pharmacy and decked car park.
Samantha Jones, Chief Executive said: "Being granted outline planning permission from Sutton Council is excellent news and it takes us a step closer to receiving final sign off of our plans to spend millions on redeveloping St Helier Hospital.
"St Helier is long overdue a major upgrade and our proposals will drastically improve the environment in which we care for our patients. It will also improve the working lives of our staff and volunteers.
"We are very pleased that Sutton Council liked our designs for the redevelopment and I would like to thank them for their continued support of the scheme."
Councillor Sean Brennan, Leader of Sutton Council, said: "I'm delighted that these proposals have received the green light.
"The redevelopment plans have been a long time coming. Subject to the Mayor of London's approval they promise exceptional, modern health facilities for people in Sutton and beyond.
"It's now up to the Government to deliver the promised funding and speed along the much-needed redevelopment.
"The council has backed the project from the outset and our planning officers have worked alongside Trust staff to create a scheme that delivers better healthcare services but is sympathetic to nearby residents."
The proposals for the redevelopment of St Helier (also known as an outline business case) are currently with the Treasury and Department of Health awaiting final approval. For them to grant approval, the Trust had to secure outline planning permission from the council. The Treasury and Department of Health are expected to make a final decision shortly.
The proposals to redevelop St Helier form part of the Better Healthcare Closer to Home initiative, which the Trust's runs in partnership with NHS Sutton and Merton.
Dr Martyn Wake, Joint Medical Director, NHS Sutton and Merton said: "This news takes us one step nearer to making Better Healthcare Closer to Home a reality for local people in Sutton and Merton. With local care centres on track to open in Wallington in 2011, at the Wilson and Nelson hospitals in 2013, and at St Helier in 2017, this is real progress in improving local health care."
