The six-storey BEACH Building, containing maternity, children’s, and emergency care services alongside a new hospital main entrance, officially welcomed its first patients on 31 March 2025. IHP says the 25,000 m2 complex – which first broke ground in 2021, ‘offers a more appropriate space and facilities to meet the demands of modern-day healthcare’.
The new Maternity and Neonatal Unit will welcome over 4,400 babies annually. Meanwhile, the enhanced Emergency Department is larger than two pre-existing facilities combined, and enables Royal Bournemouth Hospital to become the major emergency hospital for Dorset.
Building work took place with minimal disruption to the Royal Bournemouth site, which remained operational throughout.
The development forms part of the £500 m ‘transformation’ for University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust’s hospitals, including investment to develop Poole Hospital as the major planned care hospital, and ambitious plans for Christchurch Hospital.
Bruce Preston, Project director at IHP, said: “The project’s success is testament to our team, who have delivered this programme of work on a live hospital site with minimal disruption to the Trust’s operations. These facilities will deliver great benefit for the people of Dorset, both now, and in the years to come.”
Jason Griffiths Regional director, IHP, added: “We’re proud to have delivered this amazing large-scale 1,000 room development on time and to budget. This result has been made possible through collaboration with the Trust, and the whole team. The project navigated the challenging events of COVID, Brexit and hyperinflation, as well as one of the key supply chain partners going into liquidation. We look forward to our continued relationship on the transformation programme with repeat works in Bournemouth and Poole estates. Thank you to everyone involved.”
Stephen Killen, Transformation director at UHD NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to IHP for their high-quality work and professionalism throughout this project. Our new BEACH Building is already making a real difference – improving birth, emergency, and critical care services, with children’s health services set to move in early next year.
“We’re looking forward to continuing to work closely with IHP as a project partner to enhance our services, with several further upgrades underway across our hospital sites.”