Residents from across the Wokingham area have been invited to discuss the redevelopment of Royal Berkshire Hospital in one of the first community engagement events.

The redevelopment of one of Berkshire’s oldest hospitals has been an ongoing issue following it’s introduction into the New Hospital Scheme in 2019.

According to hospital officials, three locations are being considered including the existing site on London Road and two new sites within the surrounding area.

The meeting, held by ‘Building Berkshire Together’ aims to update the local community on the progress and redevelopment and decide which services that would best serve patients.

Programme Director, Alison Foster said: “It is a complicated process to get to a shortlist and we want to make sure we have the latest intelligence about what health services the local population would like to receive, where and how.

“We are working hard to reach every corner Berkshire to speak to communities who will use and benefit from a modern, fit for purpose, healthcare facility to deliver excellent clinical care in the 21st century.”

Following the engagement meetings taking place across Berkshire, the team have said that they will submit the gathered information they receive from local communities to the treasury.  This will hopefully help decide on a preferred option as part of this process.

So far, the Trust is yet to hear what the financial investment will be from the Treasury, but an announcement is expected soon. 

The New Hospital Programme team are developing a national approach which is expected to reduce costs for all the new hospitals with standardised and centralised approaches to deliver economies of scale. 

Due to the condition and age of the current Royal Berkshire Hospital, it was chosen for the New Hospital initiative as part of the former PM’s agenda in 2019.

It’s aim is to deliver 48 new hospitals by 2030, including 8 previously announced schemes and 32 confirmed new schemes.

The government however came under a lot of scrutiny from the public this year regarding this scheme when it was found that only a small number of hospitals had gained planning permission.

In an article from the Guardian newspaper, one official told them that the chance of all 48 hospitals reaching completion by 2030 was very slim.

The aim of the new hospital scheme is to replace outdated infrastructure with modern, innovation and environmentally sustainable buildings, and lay the foundation for intelligent systems, driving innovation and investment in new diagnostics.

The community meeting will take place in Wokingham on Tuesday 21 March from 6.00pm to 8.00pm at Wokingham Town Hall.

Anyone wishing to attend this FREE event can call 07864 003268 or email bbt@royalberkshire.nhs.uk to reserve their space.