Morgan Sindall Construction has completed the structure for Alder Hey’s £24m neonatal and emergency care facility, marking a key milestone in the hospital’s expanding healthcare campus.
The building is on track to open in early 2026.
Designed by Gilling Dod Architects, the unit will house the UK’s first purpose-built neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) following the family integrated care model, keeping parents close to their babies throughout treatment.
The NICU will feature 22 neonatal cots and individual family rooms, with parent bedrooms directly connected to each baby’s space.
Once operational, it will allow the sickest newborns to receive surgical care on-site without transfers, as part of the Liverpool Neonatal Partnership between Alder Hey and Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
The ground floor will expand urgent and emergency care, integrating paediatricians, emergency clinicians, advanced clinical practitioners, primary care teams, and family support workers.
Facilities include a 16-bed assessment unit, a co-located urgent treatment centre, and a purpose-built same-day emergency care service, designed to streamline patient pathways and reduce pressure on the hospital’s busy emergency department.
Funding for the wider scheme includes £9m from the national Urgent and Emergency Care programme, alongside additional charitable support from Alder Hey Children’s Charity to enhance equipment and family facilities within the neonatal unit.
Members of the design team from Gilling Dod Architects recently visited the site to review progress and see the emerging clinical spaces first-hand, with the build programme highlighting the collaborative effort between clinicians, designers, and the construction team.
The visit also showcased the attention to detail across the project, including carefully organised above-ceiling services installations and other construction elements reflecting the high standards being delivered on site.
Construction on the site began in 2023, with excavation work marking the start of the build.
