14 January 2013
BRI redevelopment reaches major milestone
Today (Monday 14 January) work on the construction of the new
ward block behind the Bristol Royal Infirmary reached its highest
point.
The milestone was marked with a topping out ceremony at which
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UH Bristol)
Chairman John Savage and Dr Mike Nevin, Head of the Division of
Surgery, Head and Neck, tightened the last 'golden bolt' at the top
of the new structure.
John Savage said: "This ceremony celebrates an important
milestone in the redevelopment of the Bristol Royal Infirmary. This
project has been many years in development and it is very exciting
to see these plans coming to fruition.
"The investment the Trust is making in buildings and equipment
now will serve us for many years to come and help us to transform
the ways in which services are delivered to patients."
The £80 million new ward block, which is due to open in 2014, will
see all clinical services move out of the Trust's oldest estate,
the 1735 Old Building.
Dr Mike Nevin said: "This is an essential piece of work that
will have a very positive outcome for our patients. We want the
quality of our buildings to match the quality of the care we
provide inside them; the development will more than double the
number of single rooms and provide an improved environment for our
patients and their families, while enabling us to work more
efficiently and ensure patients recover and return home as quickly
as possible."
UH Bristol has worked in close partnership with Laing O'Rourke,
the construction company leading the project. Scott Palmer, Laing
O'Rourke director, said: "With a shared desire to improve the care
available to the community of Bristol we've been working in close
collaboration with UH Bristol to deliver innovative solutions.
"Offsite manufacturing has played a key part in this, helping
the team to deliver single bed wards, on time, to a high quality,
and with an exemplary safety record, despite the logistically
challenged environment. This is demonstrated by our strong health
and safety performance throughout the 56 weeks of
construction."
Hospitals' charity Above & Beyond is set to raise funds to
support the redevelopment through a major appeal to be publicly
launched later this year. The charity's input will
significantly add to what the building programme is able to deliver
for patients and hospital staff.
"Our vision is to help dedicated hospital staff develop the
treatments of tomorrow and save even more lives. Our plans do not
stop there. Through this historic building programme, we can
deliver the very best for patients - with hospitals designed to
offer privacy and dignity in care at a time when they need it
most.
"It's quite a challenge in tough economic times. However as a
Bristol charity we count ourselves luck to be in a caring city. The
BRI was founded and funded in 1735 by Bristol people who cared. We
now have a once in a life time opportunity - with the help of the
people of Bristol - to create gold standard healthcare for future
generations in our city and the South West," said Above &
Beyond Chief Executive Sarah Talbot-Williams.
The development of the new ward block forms part of a larger
project which includes the expansion and redevelopment of the
Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre and the Bristol Royal
Hospital for Children.
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