THE external structure of the new £49.9 million Elective Centre at Southmead Hospital has now been completed.

The centre is a joint project between North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), supported by Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) Integrated Care Board.

More than 220 modules have been lifted into place by a crane over six weeks to create the building structure.

It will open in spring 2025, enabling up to 6,500 additional operations to be carried out across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire every year.

The next steps for the building are to carry out the internal works. This includes installing steelwork to strengthen the building, pouring concrete to create the internal floors and stairs and installing internal partitions to create the rooms.

Once the internal building work is completed, work will begin on installing new ‘state of the art’ operating theatres and supporting clinical facilities.

NBT and UHBW joint chief executive, Maria Kane said: “It has been amazing to see the Elective Centre take shape over the last couple of months.

“The additional surgical capacity the building will provide will have a significant impact on the number of patients we can treat, and we cannot wait to see it completed over the coming months.

“Thank you to our neighbours and patients for your patience during these works, we hope you are as excited about this project as we are.”

UHBW interim chief executive, Stuart Walker, said: “Working closely together for the benefit of our patients and populations is at the heart of the NBT and UHBW Joint Clinical Strategy.

"Reaching this important milestone in the construction of the new elective centre takes us a step closer to realising our shared vision of delivering seamless, high quality, equitable and sustainable care across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, providing sustainable solutions for elective care."

David Jarrett, chief delivery officer at NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB, said: “It’s really exciting to see this state-of-the-art elective centre take shape, moving us closer to providing significant capacity to deliver more planned care for people across the area.

“This collaborative project underlines our health and care system’s commitment to delivering efficient and effective patient centre care that is sustainable for the future.”

Designed and built by healthcare construction specialists, Darwin Group, the company’s deputy CEO Jim Pierce, said: “We are incredibly proud to work as partners to design and construct this Elective Centre at Southmead Hospital.

“The projects we deliver help to transform patient and staff experiences and improve healthcare outcomes for tens of thousands of people every year.

“It’s always great to see work and to hear first hand about the impact that the facility will have on the local community, we are very much looking forward to the opening of the centre.”