Main construction has begun on Derriford Hospital’s new Emergency Care Building, the first scheme in Wave 1 of the Government’s New Hospital Programme to move from enabling works to full build. Procured under ProCure23 with Mace, the £140m four-storey facility will double urgent and emergency capacity for University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust and is due to open in 2028/29.
The project replaces the hospital’s 1970s emergency department with a modern care hub designed around faster pathways, co-located diagnostics and better staff amenities. At ground level, a new Emergency Department will expand majors, resus and assessment capacity, while the reconfigured existing ED will become a dedicated paediatric emergency department on completion. The first floor will house a Same Day Emergency Care unit to support rapid admission, treatment and discharge, easing bed pressure across the wider estate.
Upper floors concentrate high-acuity services and imaging. Plans include four interventional radiology theatres, five surgical theatres for both emergency and planned procedures, new imaging suites, recovery areas and improved staff facilities. The extension will be connected into the live hospital to maintain clinical adjacencies while minimising patient transfers, crucial for a site that serves as the major trauma centre for the South West peninsula.
Marking the milestone, programme director Stuart Windsor said: “It has been a long journey to get to today, but we will now finally see the new Emergency Care Building start to rise from the ground.” Willmott Dixon director Rob Woolcock added: “This represents not just the beginning of a building, but the next step in enhancing the care and wellbeing of thousands of patients every year… a modern, purpose-built environment designed to support both patients and staff.”
Beyond clinical capacity, the scheme targets regional skills and supply-chain benefits. Through its Building Lives Academy, Willmott Dixon will create apprenticeships, employment support and training, with a focus on sourcing materials and labour locally across the South West. The contractor’s healthcare track record includes the £30m regeneration of Barnes Hospital in London and the £150m redevelopment of Springfield University Hospital in Wandsworth.
For designers and delivery teams, the brief reflects current NHS priorities: future-proofed floorplates, clear wayfinding, robust infection-control strategies, and resilient MEP with space for emerging technologies. With ground broken in Plymouth, Wave 1 now has a live benchmark for how the New Hospital Programme intends to modernise emergency care while driving social value in host communities.
Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
