The Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed a delay to the opening of its new Hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
The delay follows the advice of contractor, Skanska, that following checks on the lower part of the building, insulation materials used do not meet the Trust's original specification. The Trust had specified "non-combustible products," and has decided not to accept the hand-over of the building, which was scheduled for this month, until Skanska has carried out remedial works. It is unclear how long this will take.
In a statement on the hospital's website, Stephen Posey, Chief Executive of Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust says: "We are extremely disappointed that we will not be able to open our new hospital in September as planned. Our staff have been working extremely hard to prepare for the move and it is incredibly frustrating to discover a problem with the building at this late stage. However, we must ensure that our new building meets our original requirements."
The £165m hospital has been funded as a PF2 deal, which should see Skanska provide FM services until 2040.
