QA Hospital: See how construction work on new A&E department in Portsmouth is progressing

Eagle-eyed readers may have spotted a crane going up at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham last week. This is for the construction of a new emergency department, a £58m project that is expected to take roughly two years to complete.

Construction vehicles and workers are already on-site, with concrete and steel coming from the recently demolished multi-storey hospital car park.

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Once open, the new A&E will feature two further paediatric resus bays for children, faster access to radiology teams for scans and tests, an accredited changing places facility and dedicated rest areas for staff.

More than 3,000 tonnes of concrete has been crushed and retained on site at the Cosham hospital – and will now be used to form the groundwork for the new building.

Mark Orchard, chief financial officer at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said: ‘We’re excited to be able to recycle these demolished car park materials and find ways to reuse the concrete and steel in the new build.

‘The trust recently launched its green plan, which sets out how we will achieve a lower carbon footprint and initiate a range of long-term changes that contribute to environmental sustainability. This recent recycling of old materials for the new emergency department is a great example of our commitment to improving our environmental performance.’

By reusing the recycled concrete, additional heavy goods vehicle journeys haven’t been required to bring in extra materials on site and no concrete needed to be sent to landfill. The reduction in vehicle use has helped to reduce air pollution produced by vehicles.

Around 321 tonnes of reinforcing steel and the steel car park frame structure have also been recycled and sold to a local steel plant, who will melt the steel down and reform it into something new. This sale has contributed to the costs of demolition, the NHS trust says.

The new design will also give nursing teams better visibility across the department enabling faster decision-making by clinicians, meaning people visiting the department will receive the treatment they need in a timely way.

NHS bosses say the new emergency department will be opened in the winter next year.