Jan 13, 20233 min read

Building Berkshire Together is the name for the Royal Berkshire Hospital scheme...

For immediate release – 13 January 2023

PUBLIC SURVEY TO SHORTLIST ROYAL BERKS OPTIONS

As part of the government’s New Hospital Programme, the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is asking for views about the options for either the redevelopment or relocation of Royal Berkshire Hospital.

Building Berkshire Together is the name for the Royal Berkshire Hospital scheme. We are working on the business case application for the required funding that will be submitted to treasury and are gathering the information to help decide on a preferred option as part of this process.

Representatives from Healthwatch, the local Councils, the University of Reading, patient representatives and community organisations have collaborated to develop a survey to help with the shortlisting process.

“It is a complicated process to get to a shortlist and we want to make sure we have the latest intelligence about what health services the local population would like to receive, where and how” said Programme Director, Alison Foster “We are working hard to reach every corner of Berkshire and South Oxfordshire to speak to communities who will use and benefit from a modern, fit for purpose, healthcare facility to deliver excellent clinical care in the 21st century.”

The Trust is yet to hear what the financial investment will be from the Treasury but an announcement is expected next month. The New Hospital Programme team are developing a national approach which is expected to reduce costs for all the new hospitals with standardised and centralised approaches to deliver economies of scale.

The survey is open until 6 March 2023 and face to face feedback events are being arranged in each of our constituencies during January and February 2023.

You can find the survey online at https://www.buildingberkshiretogether.co.uk/survey or you can request a printed / translated or Easy Read copy from 0118 322 6630 or by email bbt@royalberkshire.nhs.uk.

The feedback will be published in the summer and the Trust will continue to engage with stakeholders as the programme develops to ensure it considers patient experience and public views as each stage of this exciting opportunity unfolds.

Ends

For further information please contact;

Lynn Bushell, Communications and Engagement Lead for Building Berkshire Together 0118 322 5360 / lynn.bushell@royalberkshire.nhs.uk or

Alison Foster, Programme Director alison.foster@royalberkshire.nhs.uk

For further information please see our website www.buildingberkshiretogether.co.uk

About the New Hospital Programme

The New Hospital Programme is the biggest hospital building programme in a generation, creating world-class health facilities through innovation and collaboration.

The programme will deliver 48 hospitals by 2030. This includes 8 previously announced schemes and 32 confirmed new schemes. We are currently reviewing expressions of interest for 8 additional schemes.

5 are currently in construction and 2 have now reached completion – The Northern Centre for Cancer Care in North Cumbria, which opened in August 2021, and Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, which opened in October 2022.

Replacing outdated infrastructure with modern, innovation and environmentally sustainable buildings, the programme will lay the foundation for intelligent systems, driving innovation and investment in new diagnostics to provide top-class healthcare services and facilities for patients, staff, and local communities.

Part of the wider Health Infrastructure Plan (HIP), a long-term, rolling programme of strategic investment in health and care buildings, estates and equipment, the New Hospital Programme is a joint venture between the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.

Working with NHS Trusts, Government, and industry, our centralised programme’s mission is to: