Demolition of old inpatient ward to start soon as part of new £35m Berwick hospital project

The old inpatient ward, located behind the houses of Violet Terrace and part of Low Greens, will be demolished. This is due to start later this month.

The update from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Merit on the £35million project also states that work to put up the steel frame of the hospital is progressing very well.

Demolition of the old ward is required in order to finish this phase of the scheme and work to prepare for the demolition will begin on Wednesday (January 10). It will mainly be carried out inside the ward.

The demolition work itself is due to begin on Monday, January 22 and it is anticipated that it will be completed by the end of February. Merit will be carrying out this work Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and on Saturdays between 8am and 1pm.

Mark Brough, project manager at Merit, said: “We try our very best to stick to planned timescales. However, I am sure you will appreciate that sometimes factors like the weather can mean work takes a bit longer than planned.

“Piling work next to the old inpatient ward has already been done and we are now installing the pile caps, which will enable us to erect the remainder of the hospital frame from week commencing Monday, January 22.

“We will also need to put up some site cabins at the back of Violet Terrace. Due to the hospital frame going up, the amount of space that we have on site is reduced and we need to move the cabins that colleagues are currently working from.

“We apologise in advance for any disruption and would like to reassure you that everything will be done to keep this to a minimum.”

To enable this work to be carried out, there will be an increased amount of construction traffic accessing the site, including via Well Close. A ‘no waiting or loading’ restriction on Brucegate will continue to be in place to ensure safe access.

As a result of the amount of dust caused by the demolition, patients requiring oncology services and those that are immunosuppressed will receive care at Alnwick Infirmary.

The new hospital is due to fully open in the middle of 2025.