Skip to content

Consultation opens on Hinchingbrooke Hospital plans

Darren CalpinLocal Democracy reporter
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust An artist's impression of how the new hospital will look. It is a drawing showing various buildings and a lot of open green spaceNorth West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
An artist's impression of how the new hospital site will look

People in Cambridgeshire are being invited to share their thoughts on plans for a new hospital at a public consultation.

Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon was one of four in the East of England with Raac - or reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete - in some of its walls and roof, causing ongoing structural issues.

It has been included in the first wave of the government's New Hospital Programme, with the new site expected to open by the end of 2032.

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said it had launched the consultation, which would last until 16 August, giving people the opportunity to share their thoughts on the plans.

Phil Shepka/BBC Deborah Lee is smiling at the camera and is wearing a black and white patterned top. She has long, wavy dark hair which is tied backPhil Shepka/BBC
Deborah Lee is the trust's senior responsible officer for the Hinchingbrooke redevelopment

Deborah Lee, in charge of delivering the building project, said the hospital had "been at the heart of local life for more than 40 years, and this is a once-in-a-generation chance to build a hospital fit for the decades ahead".

The new building would be on the southern corner of the existing site, so services would continue during the construction process.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the redevelopment will create a modern, digitally enabled hospital built to the latest NHS standards, including single rooms for every inpatient.

Key services, including a full A&E department and maternity care, would remain on site.

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust An illustrative image of the new hospital staff accommodation. It is a four-storey white building with rows of windows on each floor. The roof is mostly flat with solar panels on top. There is a green space outside with grass, flowers, trees and a seating area.North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
An impression of how the new staff accommodation building might look

Lee said that "some things are settled" but added that "a great deal is still genuinely open, and that is where local people come in".

The trust said it was inviting feedback on how patients, visitors and staff arrive at and move around the hospital site.

It was also looking for feedback on what future care experience should feel like, including the use of single rooms and digital technology, alongside how the wider hospital site could support community life and wellbeing.

Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More on this story
Related internet links