Patients Help To Break Ground On Our New Front Entrance

Our Chief Nurse, Daljit Athwal and Charity CEO, Mark Brider, were joined at a special ground breaking ceremony by project contractors, BSN Group, including Managing Director, Darren Perry and Site Manager, Hadleigh Marsh, plus two very special guests – four-year-old Pennie and 14-year-old Reuben, who are both patients on our neurosurgery ward.

Last updated nearly three decades ago, the old main entrance was cramped, dull and unwelcoming. Families told us it was stressful to navigate and didn’t put them or their children at ease.

To change this, our charity launched the £3m It Starts Here Appeal, to transform it into a bright, spacious and child-friendly space, helping reduce fear and anxiety of patients ahead of appointments.

The success of the appeal since its launch enabled work to start on site, with the old front entrance officially closing its doors for the last time in August. This was to allow preparatory work to get underway, ahead of the main construction starting.

What followed the ground breaking was a programme of work including piling the foundations, erecting the frame, adding the roof and windows, before starting the internal fit-out, including our new 2,200-plus litre aquarium and finishing with final external landscaping.

We hope to welcome patients through our new magical main entrance in autumn this year.

To learn more about our It Starts Here Appeal, fundraise or donate, visit our appeal page.