Construction of a new Women and Children’s Hospital at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro is expected to begin in the second half of 2028, with the £410m programme targeting completion in 2032.
The latest timeline was outlined by Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) Acting Chief Executive Kim O’Keeffe at a Trust board meeting on 5 November.
It follows the appointment of Willmott Dixon as the scheme’s Hospital 2.0 Alliance construction partner in July.
The project, which forms part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, will bring together acute women’s, children’s and maternity services in a purpose-built facility on the Royal Cornwall Hospital site.
The revised programme follows a change to the hospital’s proposed location, with the new building now planned for the front of the Treliske site, opposite the Trelawny Wing entrance, rather than the previously proposed central location.
According to RCHT, the preferred site incorporates the existing microbiology building and Car Parks 1A and 1B.
The development will also provide a new main entrance for the hospital, with the new building connecting to existing facilities.
Design and planning programme
The hospital is being redesigned to meet the New Hospital Programme’s Hospital 2.0 standards, which include standardised room layouts, modern methods of construction and digital infrastructure.
A key requirement is that all patient bedrooms will be single occupancy, with ensuite bathrooms.
RCHT said its updated concept designs were being developed with clinical teams and key stakeholders to ensure the scheme meets the national design requirements.
The trust’s project programme identifies several milestones ahead of construction.
An outline planning application is scheduled for submission to Cornwall Council this month, with updated Hospital 2.0 concept designs due to be submitted for approval in March 2027.
Further clinical and technical design development will take place throughout 2027, followed by another round of approvals in 2028 before the main construction phase begins.
Willmott Dixon is currently delivering the Emergency Care Department at Derriford Hospital for University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust.
RCHT said the appointment would provide opportunities for local construction and supply chain businesses to work alongside the contractor.
Parking provision and site access
The revised hospital location will require the redevelopment of existing parking areas, raising questions about how patient, visitor and staff parking will be maintained during construction.
The new building will occupy the footprint of Car Parks 1A and 1B, although the trust has already completed an earlier parking reprovision scheme.
In 2024, RCHT provided 176 additional spaces through an extension to the Gravel Pit car park and created 50 accessible parking spaces in Car Park 1C.
However, further parking provision will be required to accommodate the loss of spaces associated with the revised hospital footprint.
The trust's current proposal is to add a deck to Car Park 1C, which would become the main patient and visitor car park.
This remains under consideration as part of a wider transport plan for the Royal Cornwall Hospital site.
The final arrangements for parking and the reallocation of spaces between staff, patients and visitors are due to be reviewed closer to the start of construction.
Parking concerns have also been raised by members of the public, with questions about where patients and visitors will be able to park as the hospital development progresses.
The trust has said further parking provision will be developed alongside its wider site transport plans.
Enabling works and hospital services
A number of enabling projects are also required to prepare the site for the main hospital development.
These include relocating the Cardiac Department from the Link Corridor to the Trelawny Wing outpatient department, making space for a new pathology building.
The planned Pathology Hub will co-locate microbiology with Blood Sciences, the Haematology Outpatient Department and mortuary services in the centre of the hospital site.
The new microbiology building will also incorporate pharmacy services.
RCHT is separately working with National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) to increase the electrical supply to the Truro site.
The work includes extending existing electrical infrastructure and providing a new substation, with completion expected before the end of 2027.
Once operational, the Women and Children’s Hospital will accommodate maternity, neonatal and paediatric care, obstetrics and gynaecology services.
The development is intended to replace facilities that the trust says are no longer suitable for the delivery of modern maternity services, bringing the departments together in one location.
RCHT said it is working with the national New Hospital Programme team to progress the remaining design, planning and business case approvals ahead of the planned construction start in 2028.
