A new state-of-the-art Airedale General Hospital
Our journey to a new hospital
The announcement that we are getting a new hospital was in May 2023, so you may be wondering when the plans will be ready, and the diggers will start to appear.
We are of course eager to get the new hospital as quickly as possible . But planning and building a hospital takes time and there is a lot of work that needs to be done before construction can start,.
Although it might not look as if much is happening at the moment, there is a huge amount of work taking place behind the scenes to begin the process of building our new hospital.
The image above shows an overview of the main stages of work involved in our journey to a new hospital. To read about our the things that we having to consider when planning our new hospital go to the key considerations for our new hospital page.
Stage one - Where to Build the Hospital
- Planning work started as soon as we were accepted onto the New Hospital Programme in May 2023.
- The first job was to think about where the new hospital could be built and if there are any other locations we could use.
- We’ve not found any other suitable sites, so we will be building on our current 43-acre site.
- We can’t use many of the current buildings for the new hospital so this limits the options for where it can be built on the site .
- To help work out where the new hospital should be built, we have been carrying out a range of surveys. These will provide information on the ground conditions and make-up of the land, as well as any impact on wildlife and traffic.
- We’ve also been asking patients, staff and our local communities about the things that are important to them. We will keep doing this and asking for your ideas and views
Stage two - Getting the Site Ready
Before any building can start, a lot of work will need to be done to get the site ready.- The new hospital and building work will need extra power so we need to put in more electricity cables and build a new electricity substation on the site.
- We need to make sure we can continue to provide high quality services for patients and that people can get around the hospital site safely while this major building work takes place.
- This includes providing entrances and storage areas for all the vehicles and equipment that will be needed during the work, including 20-tonne diggers and trucks and 260-foot cranes.
- We also need to make sure that there will be enough parking for staff and patients plus the people working on the new hospital while the building work takes place.
- And we want to look at any other work that could be done now to help save time and money.
Click here to find out more about stage two – Securing the Future: Stage two – Airedale NHS Foundation Trust (airedale-trust.nhs.uk)
Stage three - Designing the Hospital
The next stage is to look at designing the new hospital.- This starts with creating a plan for what the new hospital will be like, which will take around six months. Next a detailed plan will be produced, which will take up to 12 months.
- The design will use a template called ‘Hospital 2.0’. This is being developed nationally with healthcare professionals and patients and the public.
- The plans will also be based on the health needs of people in the Airedale area and what services they need, now and in the future.
- Views and feedback from staff, patients, and local communities will also be a very important part of the design process.
- There will also be a focus on being environmentally-friendly and the use of the latest digital technology.
Stage four - Getting Planning Consent
As for all new building projects, we will need to get planning permission.- We will be working closely with Bradford Council through all the phases to make sure we meet all the regulations and avoid any delays.
- Once the final plans for the new hospital are complete, we will submit them for planning permission.
- It can take up to six months to get planning permission, so we need to allow plenty of time for this part.
Stage five - Building the Hospital
Once all this work has been finished, we can finally begin to build the hospital.- This is likely to take up to four years to complete.
- Services will be moved into the new hospital in phases to reduce disruption, so it will be some time before the hospital is fully up and running.
- After this, the final stage will be to demolish the old buildings and finish any remaining work on the grounds.
- Then it will be time to celebrate our new state-of-the-art hospital!
Want to know more?
Would you like to hear more about our plans for our new hospital and opportunities to get involved?
If so, you can join our mailing list to receive the latest news, hear about how our plans are progressing and find more information out about getting involved in our planning. To sign to our newsletter or to find out more information, send your name, postcode and email address to anhsft.yournewhospital@nhs.net. Please put the email subject as ‘Mailing list’.
Please note that your personal contact information will only be used for this purpose.
Accessible information
The video below goes through the stages of our journey to a new hospital in British Sign Language (BSL).
