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Our vision

Our vision at RCHT is to provide outstanding care to one and all. We want to attract and retain the best clinicians and support staff to work with us, and to provide the best patient care in a physical environment that’s modern and fit for purpose.   

Delivering a new Women and Children’s Hospital for the people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has been planned for more than 20 years. Our existing estate which accommodates the services for women and children on the Royal Cornwall Hospital site in Truro is nearly 60 years old and in poor condition; many of the current facilities require total replacement.  Our current women and children’s services are also split between different buildings, and existing facilities lack sufficient space for the modern and safe delivery of clinical care. 

Now our new hospital is part of the national New Hospital Programme, our vision is set to become a reality. Our scheme is in Wave 1 of the programme, and we expect construction on the programme to commence in 2028.

A brand-new Women and Children’s Hospital will transform the way clinicians work and improve patient safety and experience. Co-location of associated clinical services brings workforce benefits in terms of efficient staffing, improved working as a wider multi-disciplinary team and an enhanced reputation to attract and retain high-quality staff.  

We aim to deliver transformative, sustainable and digitally enabled models of care, and provide fully co-located services in a single, purpose-built hospital.  

Programme of works

The new Women and Children’s Hospital is being built on the Royal Cornwall Hospital site in Truro. It is part of the national New Hospital Programme (Wave 1 scheme). A new front entrance for the hospital site in Truro is also planned alongside the new hsopital, as the overall site is reconfigured and re-orientated. Once the Princess Alexandra Wing is emptied, it will be demolished at the end of the programme. 

There are three phases for the Women and Children’s Programme:

• Phase 1 – Pathology relocation. The microbiology service will be relocated to the centre of the site
• Phase 2 – Main new Women and Children’s hospital build
• Phase 3 – Demolition of the Princess Alexandra Wing

Our plan is to start construction of Phase 1 in early 2028 and Phase 2 in 2029.

The overall programme of work to create this Women and Children’s Hospital in Truro means that other services need to be relocated. Relocating Pathology (microbiology), pharmacy offices and the Cardiac Department into new purpose-built locations elsewhere onsite will bring additional benefits in terms of improved facilities and better functional adjacencies to other existing services.  

The services we can expect in the new Women and Children’s Hospital

• A new main entrance for the hospital within the Women and Children’s development 
• Gynaecology: The early pregnancy unit (EPU), gynaecology outpatients and inpatient services 
• Maternity: A consultant-led unit, maternity outpatients, obstetric theatres, and maternity triage 
• Neonatology: Neonatal unit with family integrated care
• Paediatrics: Paediatric assessment unit (PAU), dedicated paediatric outpatients and inpatient services, and high dependency unit
• Gynaecology and Paediatric Theatres – robotic ready
• Midwife-led birthing centre 
• Transitional care ward 
• Dedicated bereavement and safeguarding suites 
• Flexible, age-specific sensory areas and play areas 
• Re-provision of pharmacy services. 

Patient benefits

• Two new state-of-the-art obstetric theatres will support the running of a bespoke elective C-section list, whilst providing capacity to manage emergency C-sections as required. This will improve safety, flow and enhance patient experience.
• New gynaecology and paediatric theatres that meet national theatre standards will be co-located with the rest of women and children’s services.
• Dedicated paediatric accommodation will be provided, so children can complete their surgical pathway within the theatres rather than transferring back to the inpatient areas for recovery.
• Designated gynaecology and paediatric theatres will also consolidate staff with advanced skills in a dedicated area, which will improve quality of care delivered for our local women and children.
• New consultant-led delivery birthing rooms for high-risk births will improve safety and ensure compliance with better birth guidance on patient choice.
• Inpatient wards located adjacent to the birthing units and flexible ward spaces. This will also improve patient safety, quality of care and patient experience for patients whose level of care needs to be elevated.
• A new Neonatal Unit that meets national guidelines with increased space to support parents staying at the cot-side throughout the inpatient stay will enable families to stay together in single rooms supported by the neonatal and midwifery teams. There will also be a dedicated 20-bed transitional family-centred care ward that will be co-located with the Neonatal Unit.
• Flexible, age-specific sensory and play areas that will be linked to digital apps throughout the paediatric pathway. This will improve child development and child experience.
• Inpatient accommodation designed for specific paediatric cohorts includes the provision of separate accommodation for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) patients with a physical health need, young children (0-11) and specialist paediatric cancer wards, each able to meet the needs of the respective cohorts. This will improve patient experience and facilitate the reduction of patient anxiety.
• Transitional Care from paediatric to adult services will be included up to the age of 25 (instead of 16) in line with national guidelines and the long-term plan. These will be dictated by the requirements and needs of the patient, rather than based solely upon their age. Transition will be supported by joint clinics between paediatric and adult services.
• An integrated Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU) will be located conveniently close to (but separate from) the existing Emergency Department (ED). This will improve waiting times and streaming of paediatric patients with medical concerns from ED to the PAU.

Location of main build

Women and Children’s Hospital – Enabling projects

The following works are being done to enable the Women and Children’s Hospital programme. 

Pathology Relocation 

Relocating the microbiology laboratories to co-locate with other pathology services is essential for the new Women and Children’s Hospital. This is the largest of the enabling projects and represents the first phase (Phase 1) of the construction element of the programme. 

The new microbiology building will be constructed to the south of the Link Corridor at the centre of our site in Truro, closer to our ED. Moving the laboratories here allows the service to co-locate with Blood Sciences, the Haematology Outpatient department and the mortuary. The existing microbiology building will be demolished to make way for the new Women and Children’s Hospital. 

Our Pathology Department supports all parts of patient care pathways including prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Investment in the new purpose-built block will enable the re-provision of modern pathology services and will support improvements in patient experience and care. The modern facility will also help us to recruit and retain a high-calibre workforce to support pathology services in the longer term.  

Gravel Pit Car Park Extension

• Start date: January 2024 
• End date: July 2024 

The Gravel Pit Car Park to the north of the hospital site has been extended to create 176 more spaces. Improvements have also been made to landscaping, line markings to parking bays, CCTV and lighting.  This was a key enabling project to re-provide car parking spaces that have been or will be lost due to the Women and Children’s Hospital Programme. Travel plans and parking options are still being reviewed as part of the programme, linking with the new Northern Access Road which is due to open in April 2026.

Cardiac Department Relocation

• Start date: March 2025 
• End date: Summer 2026 

The Echocardiography and Cardiac Outpatient Service is relocating from the south side of the Link Corridor to the first floor of Trelawny Wing, within the Outpatient Block. This moves the service closer to the Cardiac Investigation Unit and the Coronary Care Unit. The work will be a straight re-provision of the service, involving internal alterations and refurbishment. 

The move of the Cardiac Department also impacts Fracture Outpatient Clinic moves within the Trelawny Wing next door to the Trauma Assessment Unit and Fracture X-ray unit.

Critical Infrastructure Upgrades 

• Start date: March 2023 
• End date: End 2027

Critical infrastructure upgrades on our site are very necessary ahead of construction of the new Women and Children’s Hospital: 

• Electrical capacity and distribution 
• Roads

Ensuring electrical capacity on site at the Royal Cornwall Hospital is a critical enabling project for the Women and Children’s Hospital. Capacity will be uplifted to achieve a minimum of 6MVA (Mega-Volt-Amperes). There are two phases to this project: the first involves the laying of new cabling and associated works on our Royal Cornwall Hospital site in Truro. The second is to upgrade the connection with the offsite substation and national connection. Plans are currently being worked up with National Grid, in close liaison with other projects.

A new Northern Access Road (NAR) is also being built as part of the Langarth Garden Village programme. While this is being managed by Cornwall Council and Cormac Ltd, we are liaising closely with the team, in particular about any impact to the large helipad to the rear of the hospital site. The main access road into the hospital site (by Trelawny Wing entrance) will be re-routed as part of our programme of activity.

Parking and accessible parking lost as a result of the building work has been re-provided elsewhere on sit, including 176 staff parking spaces and 50 accessible parking bays. Details of further changes to our car parks, and routes into and out of the hospital will be available soon. Eventually, when the new Women and Children’s Hospital is finished, a new entrance and access road to the hospital is planned. 

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