Evelina Children’s Hospital development gets the green light
Lambeth Council planners have unanimously approved plans for a landmark new building that will help make Evelina London a world-leading children’s hospital.
The new building will be joined to the existing, award-winning children’s hospital which opened in 2005.
Due to open in 2027, the development will mean that Evelina London can continue to meet the needs of the sickest children with the most-complex conditions from across the country.
Space to grow
It will also provide space to expand specialist heart and lung services as, subject to consultation, children’s 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:
Marian Ridley, hospital director, 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 its support, alongside our local community, patients, and families who we consulted throughout the planning process.”
The start of a journey
Professor Ian Abbs, chief executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, added: “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 is due to open next year.
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.
