A new hospital for Berwick

Northumbria Healthcare is investing £35 million to build of a state-of-the-art hospital in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

The 21st-century hospital to replace the old infirmary will create 295 full-time equivalent jobs per year during the construction and operational phases, and generate more than £17million to the local economy during the build.

The project is a big part of what the trust’s sustainability agenda is about – refreshing the buildings that staff work in so they’re suitable for patients and workers, innovate where ever possible and help the local economy regenerate.

Planning permission was approved in December 2020, and since then the project team has continued to work around the clock to move to the build phase.

The trust worked in partnership with Northern Archaeological Associates to carry out an archaeological dig at the beginning of the construction project, making some significant finds, some dating back to 1100AD. The hospital site lies within the town walls constructed around 1296, but little is known about life in Berwick before this time. This site is one of the biggest that archaeologists have had the opportunity to work on in Berwick. Walls, pottery, fish bones and what is thought to be stone yards, associated with Low Greens, have been found.

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Latest update - March 2024

We are pleased to give you the latest update in relation to our new hospital in Berwick. Work continues to progress well, and it will soon move into a new phase.

The steel building frame is now complete and made up of 3,500 individual pieces of steel, weighing around 1000 metric tonnes. The next step will be to pour concrete to form the ground floor, first floor and roof areas of the building.

I know we say each phase of work is exciting, but this phase will transform what is currently just a steel frame into the hospital building. This work will begin Thursday, March 28m and will take up to six weeks to complete.

We will start to pour concrete to the roof areas first and this will not need polishing. We will then pour the concrete to form the ground and first floors of the hospital, both of which will need polishing. The ground floor will take the most work as it needs a base layer of concrete, then a layer of thermal insulation and then a top layer of finish concrete.

In total we will spend around 16 days pouring and polishing concrete. For areas that require a polished finish we may need to work through the night to achieve the correct finish. The polishing work will result in some increased noise, and we apologise for any inconvenience in advance.

It is estimated around 5,000 tonnes of concrete will be used. Once poured and polished, the concrete will then take around four weeks to cure. During this time the groundworks around the structure will continue at pace and work will be done to fireproof the steel frame ahead of the external building material being installed.

We are sure that you will agree that to see the hospital move at pace is incredibly exciting for. Seeing stairs was an exciting development, so having floors will really help us to visualise our new community hospital.

A project of this size, in the location that it is, is bound to cause some disruption and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding. We are writing to residents to update them about this phase of work.

Every day we move closer to being able to provide high quality community hospital care in a really lovely environment, which will make a significant difference to both patient and staff experience.

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Update - January 2024

Next steps in relation to construction of our new hospital

We are pleased to let you know that work to put up the steel frame of the hospital is progressing very well. To enable us to finish this phase of work we need to demolish the old inpatient ward.

As you may be aware, the old inpatient ward is located behind the houses of Violet Terrace and part of Low Greens.

Work to prepare for the demolition will begin on Wednesday 10 January and will mainly be carried out inside the old inpatient ward.

The demolition work will begin on Monday 22 January, and we anticipate that it will be completed by the end of February. Merit will be carrying out this work Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and on Saturdays, between 8am and 1pm.

We try our very best to stick to planned timescales, however, I am sure you will appreciate that sometimes factors like the weather can mean work takes a bit longer than planned.

Piling work next to the old inpatient ward has already been done and we are now installing the pile caps, which will enable us to erect the remainder of the hospital frame from week commencing Monday 22 January.

We will also need to put up some site cabins at the back of Violet Terrace. Due to the hospital frame going up the amount of space that we have on site is reduced and we need to move the cabins that Merit colleagues are currently working from.

Impact on the local community

To enable this work to be carried out, there will be an increased amount of construction traffic accessing the site, including via Well Close. There will also be an increased amount of noise and dust from the site. Emergency vehicle access will be maintained at all times.

We apologise in advance for any disruption and would like to reassure you that everything will be done to keep this to a minimum.

Ensuring we work safely and keep our community safe

We may need to restrict parking for short periods of time on Well Close, to ensure construction traffic can access the site safely. This will mean only closing off one or two parking spaces at a time.

A ’no waiting or loading’ restriction on Brucegate will continue to be in place and will run for the course of the works to ensure safe access for the deliveries and large vehicles to and from site. In addition to this, a number of parking bays on Brucegate continue to be suspended.

Impact on hospital services

The minor injuries unit and out-patients department will remain open as usual during the course of this work.

As a result of the amount of dust caused by the demolition, patients requiring oncology services and those that are immunosuppressed, will receive care at Alnwick Infirmary. All affected patients have been contacted directly.

We have written to residents to let them know about this next phase of work and also appreciate your on-going support in helping us to keep local communities in Berwick updated.

Here is an image taken in the last couple of weeks of the site of our new hospital. I am sure you will agree that it is extremely exciting to see things progressing at pace now.

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Update - December 2023

Patients and staff are settling in well into Berwick Infirmary’s new temporary inpatient ward.

Our new temporary inpatient ward at Berwick Infirmary opened to patients in the middle of November. 

It is a necessary and important part of the process of building the new Berwick hospital as it ensures that patients can remain on the hospital site in Berwick, rather than being cared for in other parts of the town or elsewhere in Northumberland.

Patients can expect the same level of high-quality care on our new temporary ward.

Staff nurse, Louise Melvin, who has worked on the inpatient ward at Berwick Infirmary for two-and-a-half years, said: “Patients have reacted very positively to our new ward. They like the layout and have commented on having more space. They also like the fact that they can chat to other patients in the bays next to theirs.

“Our ward team is also very happy with the new ward. It is a really lovely environment to care for our patients in.”

Inpatients will be cared for in the temporary ward, located in what was the maternity car park, for the duration of the new hospital build.

The ward provides rehabilitation care for elderly patients that may have multiple long-term conditions and also palliative care. It has 10 beds and has been fitted out to a high standard.

Maternity, oncology, ambulatory care and minor injury unit services remain within the Berwick Infirmary building and are not affected.

Patient, Helen Aird, who has recently been cared for on the ward, said: “Our new hospital is something that we have needed for a very long time. I’m thrilled to bits things are progressing and with this temporary ward. It has plenty of space and is light and airy. Other patients are pleased with it as well. It is great that the staff have the space and what they need too.”

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Update - October 2023

We are very pleased to let you know that the construction of Berwick’s new hospital is moving into one of the most important and momentous phases to date.

Next steps in relation to construction of our new hospital

Now that work to lay the foundations of the state-of-the art healthcare facility is complete, the steel frame of building can be erected.

This is a key, very exciting stage as people will finally see the new and long-awaited community hospital taking shape.

Lengths of steel, which will make up the frame of the hospital, will be delivered to site from Monday, October 23, as well as two cranes. It is hoped that construction of the frame will also start during this week.

Around 4,700 sections of steel, varying in lengths between 2.5 metres and 12 metres, will need to be delivered in batches while this work is done because there is limited storage space on site. This phase of construction will take around four months.

As well as the hospital frame going up, steel decking will be installed which will form the ground and first floors and the base of the roof. In early January next year, concrete will then be poured on top of the decking and polished.

Ensuring we work safely and keep our community safe

A ’no waiting or loading’ restriction on Brucegate is in place and will run for the course of the works to ensure safe access for the deliveries and large vehicles to and from site. In addition to this, a number of parking bays on Brucegate are suspended.

New access roads to the site, off Brucegate, will be constructed. The boundary of the site will also need to be moved to the kerb edge of the footpath that runs along Brucegate.

Our new temporary ward

Work to install a new temporary ward, to ensure inpatients can remain on the hospital site in Berwick, is progressing well and it will open in mid-November. The 10-bed inpatient ward will be very comfortable and have all the facilities and access that the existing one does.

Depending on clinical need, some patients that would usually be admitted to Berwick Infirmary will be cared for at Alnwick Infirmary and the trust will also care for as many patients as they can within the community.

It hasn’t been possible to keep patients in the existing ward because the remainder of the piling work will be done very close to the existing ward wall. This will be carried out around mid-November and will take one week. The existing ward will then be disconnected from services and other required work done before it is demolished.

Once the frame of the hospital is up, stairs and floors will be installed along with an accessible rooftop. The building will be clad and glazed externally to weatherproof it and ensure it is watertight. The offsite manufactured components will then be put in place and the building will be fitted out.

Finally, the remaining old hospital buildings will be demolished, the car park and access roads will be built, and landscaping work completed.

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Update - 2 August 2023

Further to our communication with you in May, we are getting in touch to let you know about some work that is to begin soon to install Berwick Infirmary’s temporary inpatient ward.

Patient safety and staff wellbeing are always top priorities for the trust, so it will be necessary to install a new temporary ward for inpatients, in the maternity car park, while work continues to build our new Berwick hospital.

This is a necessary and important part of the process and ensures that inpatients can remain on the hospital site in Berwick, rather than them being cared for in other parts of the town or elsewhere in Northumberland.

What will happen this week

The temporary inpatient ward is to be located in the maternity car park, which is now closed.

To enable this ward to be installed, a large crane will access the Berwick Infirmary site via High Greens on Thursday, 3 August, and remain on site until Friday, 4 August. It will be parked between the maternity unit and the maternity car park.

The temporary ward will be made up of 12 units which measure 12 metres by three metres. Each unit will be delivered on a separate lorry over Thursday and Friday this week and will be lifted into the maternity car park by the crane.

There will be short periods of time – up to half an hour - over the two days, when the entrance to Freeman Court will be blocked so the units can be lifted into place.

It will also be necessary to suspend a couple of parking bays, as required, on High Greens, to allow the crane to access the site early on Thursday morning and exit on Friday afternoon. We will update residents directly affected by this as work progresses.

Next steps

Once constructed, the temporary ward will need to be fitted out and it is hoped that inpatients will access the ward from early to mid-October.

Please note, all Berwick Infirmary services will run as normal while this work is carried out.

Update on the construction of our new Berwick hospital

Work in the Merit factory and piling work on site is progressing well. Once the foundation work on site is complete, the steel frame of the hospital will be put up. It is hoped that this phase of work will begin by mid-November. We will be in touch soon to invite residents and stakeholders to another drop-in update session.

Keeping disruption to a minimum

We would like to reassure you that all will be done to keep any disruption to a minimum and we have written to residents to let them know about this work.

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Update - June 2023

Hello, we are very pleased to let you know that work to install the foundations of our new Berwick hospital is to begin this week.

I am sure you will agree that this is a major and exciting milestone in the £35 million project to provide Berwick and the surrounding areas with high-quality community hospital healthcare which will significantly improve patient and staff experience.

There is something very special about installing the foundations for a hospital, that is being constructed using cutting-edge technology, on a site of such historical importance.

Archaeological finds show that those that went before us were forward-thinking in their time and we are certainly continuing this innovative approach in how we will deliver the best possible healthcare well into the future.

The attached image shows how the site was transformed last month. There is also a link to a video at the end of this update.

To enable this work to be done, a piling machine and other equipment will be delivered to the Berwick hospital site on Thursday, 8 June.

The piling work, which will involve drilling around 750 40-centimetre-wide holes to a depth of five to seven metres and filling them with reinforced steel and concrete, will take around seven weeks.

Our offsite construction partner, Merit, hopes to install around 20 piles per day across the hospital footprint which is circa 120 by 40 metres.

Work will be carried out between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

It will be necessary to suspend a couple of parking bays as required on the junction of Brucegate and High Greens. We can’t confirm the dates yet, but wanted to let people know in advance.

Keeping disruption to a minimum

We know that any work of this magnitude will cause some disruption and we once again thank residents, businesses and other stakeholders in Berwick for their patience and support.

We would like to reassure everyone that all will be done to keep any disruption to a minimum.

The piling technology that we have chosen uses a drilling method, rather than banging, so is much less disruptive.

Reminder of next steps

Once the foundation work is complete, the frame of the hospital will be put up, stairs and floors will be installed along with an accessible rooftop. The building will be clad and glazed externally to weatherproof it and ensure it is watertight. The offsite manufactured components will then be put in place and the building will be fitted out.

Finally, the remaining old hospital buildings will be demolished, the car park and access roads will be built, and landscaping work completed.

Click here to watch a video of how our hospital site was transformed in May!

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Update - February 2023

We are very pleased to let you know that construction of Berwick’s new and long-awaited £35 million hospital has begun.

An invitation to find out more and meet the project team

We are holding a public drop-in session for people to find out more and meet the project team. Clinical colleagues and representatives from Well Close Medical Group will also be on hand to talk about the services that will be provided from the new hospital.

The drop-in event is being held on Thursday, March 9, between 2.30pm and 7pm, at the William Elder Building, 56-58 Castlegate, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, TD15 1JT. We hope that you can make it.

Manufacturing approach in Merit’s Cramlington factory

As you may be aware, we have appointed Merit Health as our construction partner and a large proportion of the hospital’s services infrastructure and fit-out will be built offsite at Merit’s factory in Cramlington.

Work has now begun, using the modern offsite method of construction, to manufacture 650 pre-assembled modules (PAMs), weighing around 195 tonnes in total, and 17 UltraPODs® weighing around 300 tonnes.

The PODs will house all mechanical, electrical and plumbing services. This will include power, lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and fire alarm systems. The PAMS, which will sit underneath the PODs in the ceiling framework, will act as the distribution network for the services into the hospital building.

A very special part of the project will be when what has been manufactured in the factory, especially the PAMs and PODs, are transported to site. It is quite a spectacle to see!

Benefits of this modern off-site construction method

One of the main benefits of the offsite approach to construction is that work on-site and in the factory is done in parallel, meaning that projects can be completed a lot quicker than the traditional build model.

Using the offsite approach to construction will also reduce local disruption, site traffic and noise as the majority of the work will take place in Merit’s factory in Cramlington rather than on site in Berwick. This also makes the project more sustainable as there will be less vehicle movement. Manufacturing in a controlled factory environment also means that the build is not impacted by the weather.

An outline of the next stages of the project

While work is on-going in the Merit factory, work to level the Berwick site and dig out the hospital footprint will start within the next few weeks and should be done by early summer. The foundations will then be laid and the steel frame of the building will be erected.

Once the frame of the hospital has been constructed, stairs and floors will be installed along with an accessible rooftop. The building will then be clad and glazed externally to weatherproof it and ensure it is water-tight. After this, we will install the offsite manufactured components (including the PAMs and PODs) that will form the network of services for the building. We will then be able to fit out the hospital.

The energy centre, which was going to be housed in its own building, has recently received planning permission to be installed within PODS on the rooftop of the building. This will free up space on site.

Once the main build is complete, demolition of the remaining old hospital buildings, with exception of the clock tower, will be carried out. The car park and access roads will be built and landscaping work completed.

It is hoped that the new hospital will open towards the end of next year.

Continually considering what services we can provide from our new hospital

Our new hospital will not only provide top quality healthcare well into the future, but will also provide a much-improved environment for our staff and patients, enable additional services to be provided and also support staff recruitment and retention. It will be something that Berwick and indeed Northumberland and the North East can be very proud of!

It is really exciting that we will have a new endoscopy suite and we are also considering services including colposcopy, audiology and dental services. When thinking about joined-up and holistic patient care, it is going to be so beneficial to have one of the local GP practices, Well Close Medical Group, within our new hospital too.

Thank you to residents, stakeholders and our staff

While we are absolutely delighted that we have reached this very significant milestone and that the construction of our fantastic new hospital has begun, we have to acknowledge the very long time that people have waited for this and we thank every single person involved for getting us to this point.

Our staff have been incredibly resilient over the last three years especially, coping with a global pandemic and all the work that has been done on the Berwick Infirmary site. Local residents and communities have been very patient too and we appreciate and thank you for that.

We would like to reassure people that we are very mindful that a project of this nature and size, and the location of where the new hospital is to be built, will cause disruption and we will do everything we can to minimise this. We are committed to ensuring that we continue to keep everyone updated as the project progresses. We encourage people to come along to our public drop-in session.