Consultation opens on Hinchingbrooke Hospital plans

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.

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.

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.

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