Building work on new £15 million hospital to start in September

Plans for a new £15 million Cromer and District Hospital have been confirmed by the Board of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and construction work will start in September.

The new hospital will replace the original Mill Road hospital which first opened in 1932 and will provide day treatment, out-patient care, minor injuries, renal dialysis and extended diagnostic services. The construction work will be phased to ensure that clinical services can continue to run on a near normal basis during the building work.

The new £15 million facilities will include an ophthalmic operating theatre plus new diagnostic services including a permanent on-site mammography (breast screening) service, and a DEXA scanner for osteoporosis diagnosis, a brand new MRI scanner is also planned. The new hospital will see around 11,000 more patients a year than are currently seen at Cromer. The Minor Injuries Unit on the ground floor will be named after Mrs Bernstein and the procedure unit on the first floor of the new hospital will be named after her sister Muriel Thoms.

The old Davison and Barclay ward areas of the current hospital will be retained and refurbished for use as a permanent renal dialysis unit with room for expansion. The plans for the site also allow room for further expansion if required and affordable in the future.

Chairman David Prior said: “We have been determined to deliver this long-awaited new hospital for people in north Norfolk and we are delighted to announce work will start in September. This new hospital has been made possible by two local legacies, from the late Sagle Bernstein and Phyllis Cox, and we are indebted to them for their generosity.”

The first phase of construction work is due to start in September this year, and with completion in autumn 2012. The project is being funded by the generous Sagle Bernstein and Phyllis Cox legacies.

The Hospital Arts Project is also fundraising to create a range of artworks for the new hospital. The artwork will following the theme of sky, sea and land.

For more information visit www.nnuh.nhs.uk/page/newcromer

Notes: In 2001, Cromer resident Mrs Sagle Bernstein left £11.4 million to the hospital in Cromer. In 2004, Bacton resident Phyllis Cox also left £1.3 million to the hospital.