Work has begun on a new 48-bed critical care building at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxfordshire.

The £29m building is supported by Department of Health and Social Care funding and is part of a regional approach for managing critical care demand and activity through both the COVID-19 pandemic and future seasonal pressures.

The first phase of the project is due for completion later in the spring, with full completion at the end of the year. 

The building will be adjacent to the existing trauma building and the OxSTaR Centre.  

It will have five floors; three clinical, one for storage and plant, and one non-clinical, together with improved storage facilities, a seminar room, a staff room, and additional office space.  

Dr Bruno Holthof, chief executive Officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We are incredibly pleased about this new building. Not only will it improve our critical care environment, but it will help us in planning for future demands on our services."

Sam Foster, chief nursing officer, added: "We pride ourselves on the outstanding critical care we give to our most-sick patients – and this new facility will enable us to improve this even further and provide the best quality of compassionate and excellent care - both now and, importantly, in the future."