Nuffield Health opens doors of new Cambridge Hospital

The completion of the new hospital is considered to be a significant achievement as it sits a few metres from the old building which continued to function fully throughout the works - without intruding into the working hospital’s routine, or into the lives of neighbours in a quiet residential area. The date marks two years and five months since the City planning committee gave permission for the hospital to be built on the Nuffield Health site in Trumpington Road. 

The project team focused upon delivering modern, technologically-advanced facilities. From theatres through patient bedrooms to the simplicity of the reception area, the standards of materials, fixtures and medical equipment are of the finest quality. The building is airy and full of light, yet supremely functional, combining design and function to the highest degree.

The hospital is designed to work well for everyone: patients, staff, clinicians; even visiting children have their own play area. Every aspect of a patient’s experience has been thought through by staff and the project team working together.

During the development of the hospital a public-art programme has been visible on the site hoardings outside the building. The artwork now furnishes the corridors inside, while the reception area hosts a long panel created by Simon Faithfull, the leading artist in the public-art programme, which depicts Cambridge through tiny reflective tiles.

The art identifies the hospital’s location, rooting it in Cambridge, something that Hospital Director Maxine Estop, has aimed to achieve from the very beginning. She says:

“The new hospital is a hospital for Cambridge and the surrounding area, just as it was in1926 when the Evelyn Nursing Home first established itself here in Trumpington Road. Sadly the old building will soon go, but we have built a worthy successor in the new hospital, fit for purpose in the 21st century. We hope it, too, will in due course earn the affection of our patients, for whom quality of care is our priority.”

Last updated Wednesday 23 March 2016

First published on Wednesday 22 July 2015