So, there are some mornings that are just wonderful, and for me, Monday was one. I was stood on the site of the new hospital, Hardwick Manor, in the sun, watching turf being lifted, in beautiful big two metre wide slabs. But what, I hear you ask as you read this, is so special about a bit of turf being lifted? Simply, it marks progress, tangible progress towards our new hospital.
These slices of sandy soil and grass are off to be re-homed in South Suffolk (for which planning was sought and received, with thanks to the team at West Suffolk Council who have been solidly behind us achieving this build), as they contain some special fungi. These fungi, including waxcaps, can take decades if not centuries to get going, so with the help of Professor Gareth Davies at Aberystwyth University, they are off to do just that at new homes in Hadleigh and Semer.
This has been a real Suffolk effort in the field. With the site manager George and the digger driver from Ipswich showing me the newly designed hydraulic cutter produced especially for the delicate job. From the cab, the machine cuts, lifts and places the sections onto purpose built pallets ready for transport. Talking to the archaeologist Sian, also from Ipswich, she then sweeps the site, hoping not to discover anything significant under the turf.
My trips to this site have been happening for some years, even before its purchase, when the potential to relocate here was obvious. I have continuously lobbied every Chancellor and Health Secretary since 2015 on our need to have a new hospital. This was not only a capacity issue. I remember clearly, many years ago being shown by Jacqui Grimwood (Estates work stream lead) how we were shoring the building which is made from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). I’ve seen ceilings and walls exposed and additional supports to beams and to the floor - the cost of the work has been significant in the £60million bracket. The mitigation work and the way staff have coped has been phenomenal, but there is no greater priority than this hospital being started.
Therefore, I have asked the government to allow us to fast track the build. The team here at West Suffolk Hospital lead by Gary Norgate are ready, and we have all been working in our respective jobs to be the first hospital under the new programme. We have daily meetings and to succeed, the ‘process’ will have to be concertinaed not skimping but emboldening. We will use modern design techniques with the ability to build at speed the 600 single roomed hospital pioneered by technology. Working with the New Hospital Programme team to squeeze timelines down, we need a new hospital not in the 2030’s but delivered in the next 5 years. I am straining every sinew to bring that to fruition. Our hospital treats all of Bury and beyond. It's treated our children, our parents and us. I want the staff to have a workplace fit for the 21st century. We visit a hospital, and sometimes we stay, but it is the staff who are there 365 days of the year.
Some people have asked me why we need a new hospital, remembering the current one being shiny and new back in 1974. There are three reasons: firstly RAAC, secondly its size and thirdly the evolution of medicines and medical care, and at times in our recent past, its revolution in how it treats and cares.
Monday was A momentous day for me it was an exciting start, but I’ll save the celebrations for the topping out party! We’ve got this far by working together, not accepting no for an answer and offering solutions – let’s hope in the next few weeks and months we can win the race and start to build!
