Bigger and better children's hospital gets green light

Plans for a landmark new building that will help make Evelina London a world-leading children’s hospital have been unanimously approved by Lambeth Council.

The new building will be joined to the existing, award-winning children’s hospital which opened in 2005. In that time the number of children and young people who come to it from across London and the South-East has more than doubled.

The bigger and better children’s hospital, which will open in 2027, will mean that Evelina London can continue to meet the needs of the sickest children with the most complex conditions from across the country.

It will also provide space to expand specialist heart and lung services as, subject to consultation, some services will move from Royal Brompton Hospital to Evelina London in around six years’ time.

The new hospital building, designed by Hawkins\Brown Architects and developer Linkcity, is expected to include:

• Around 100 beds, plus up to 20 additional critical care beds
• A new suite of operating theatres and procedure rooms
• Specialist imaging facilities
• More spaces for patients and families to relax, including a roof terrace.

Marian Ridley, Director of Evelina London, said: “This is a huge step for us – it will allow us to continue with our exciting plans to grow the hospital into a world-leading centre of life-changing care for even more children, young people and their families.

“Without increasing our capacity, a significant proportion of children and young people would not be able to access specialist care, leading to delays to treatment, increased use of emergency care, and the potential for worse quality of life and long term outcomes.

“We are therefore very grateful to the council for their support, alongside our local community, patients and families who we consulted throughout the planning process.”

Professor Ian Abbs, Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our ambitious plan to expand Evelina London will make it one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals, and enable us to provide exceptional care to many more children and young people.

“This is just the beginning of an exciting journey for us, and we will continue to put patients and families at the heart of what we do.”

Construction of a new day surgery centre, next to the existing hospital building, is already underway and due to open in 2022. It will provide family-friendly space that offers everything children and young people need for surgery in one place, including pre-surgery checks, recovery, and preparation to return home.

As a specialist children’s hospital on the same site as St Thomas’ Hospital which has maternity, an emergency department and other adult services, Evelina London is unique in London and one of a few hospitals in Europe able to offer children and families a comprehensive range of services from before birth to old age.

With planning permission secured by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and its development partner Linkcity, the current development agreement will be amicably concluded. The next stage will require a fresh competitive procurement for the construction and operational fit out.