Stratford to get a £20m hospital

The £20 million three-storey building will be twice the size of the existing hospital, which will be retained.

The hospital in Arden Street will include a cancer ward and an eye ward and South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust hopes that the new facilities will include an MRI scanner.

Subject to approval by planners, work is expected to start in autumn, with the first phase expected to take around 15 months to complete.

And homes developers will be expected to stump up cash to part-fund the new hospital.

Jayne Blacklay, the trust’s director of development said: “We have applied for financial contributions from developers to enable us to accommodate the healthcare needs of the new population without compromising care for the existing population.”

The cancer unit will follow the same model as the award-winning Aylesford Unit at Warwick Hospital, which has seen a high increase in demand since it opened in 2008.

A trust spokesman said: “Since March 2013 we have seen a 17 per sent increase above our planned demand for cancer services.

“The travel to Warwick Hospital from some areas in south Warwickshire is just too far, especially if they are having
 to attend each day for treatment.

“Our hope in developing these services at Stratford Hospital is to bring care closer to home for our patients.”

The spokesman added that the new facility will ensure that any emergency cancer patients are seen in a specialist unit rather than needing to use A&E services.

The trust said demand for its ophthalmology (eye) services is also growing each year and the Stratford facility will provide an outpatient suite which includes examination, treatment and injection rooms and an operating theatre.

The trust has organised a public meeting about the plans on March 4 at 6pm in Stratford District Council head offices in Church Street.

To reserve a place phone 0800 085 2471 or email [email protected]