Financial close has been achieved on the £230million Pembury Hospital scheme in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. 

The scheme will see the construction of the new 65,000 sq/m Pembury Hospital for the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.  The consortium, which also comprises the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Interserve, will be responsible for the design, build and finance of the hospital.  Laing O’Rourke is the contractor and Interserve FM will provide Hard FM services over the 30-year concession period.

The new Pembury Hospital will provide all inpatient accommodation in single en-suite bedrooms; making it the first NHS acute hospital of its kind in the UK. The hospital design incorporates the concept of hospitals within a hospital.

Construction of the new hospital on the site of the existing general hospital in Pembury, will begin in 2008.  Construction will continue in two phases, with the main hospital buildings reaching completion before existing accommodation at the top of the site is cleared.

The Pembury Hospital has been uniquely designed to incorporate features for patient safety and effective infection control. Design elements include separate planned and emergency areas to reduce the risk of infection, in-patient bedrooms designed to minimise falls and the separation of inpatient and outpatient facilities to address issues of patient privacy and dignity. 

The new hospital has been developed to fit with the local rural setting, with patient accommodation placed to take advantage of the woodland views and southerly aspects.

The new hospital is due to open in 2011.