£2m development for hospital
THE West Berkshire Community Hospital has been given a cash boost for a new building with diagnostic facilities.
The Newbury and Thatcham Hospital Building Trust has helped donate a total of £2m to the Royal Berkshire Hospital for the construction of the new building in Thatcham.
West Berkshire Community Hospital and Thatcham Rotarian trustee Dr Rob Tayton has said that the plan is for the construction of a new building close to the hospital.
It is hoped that the building will house two MRI scanners and a new PET CT scanner.
The donations were made with the help of Greenham Trust, the Peter Baker Foundation and the Storey Charitable Trust.
He said that this would mean that many people from West Berkshire will not have to travel to distant hospitals to get scans, which will improve the patient experience in the area.
Dr Tayton also commented that the trust is “very supportive” of the plan to make the community hospital a diagnostic hub for West Berkshire.
He added: “The Hospital Building Trust and, indeed, all the patients in the area were very grateful for the donations from all the trusts.
“They had already contributed a considerable amount of money to The Rosemary Appeal which resulted in the building of the renal dialysis unit and the cancer unit at the hospital three years ago.
“That appeal raised £5.3m from public donation and trust donation.”
Dr Tayton went on to say: “We are all very proud to have one of the most modern community hospitals in the UK in West Berkshire with marvellous facilities for all the patients.”
The many facilities provided at West Berkshire Community Hospital include comprehensive outpatients facilities, in-patient facilities for rehabilitation and palliative care, X-rays, physiotherapy, renal dialysis and provision of cancer care, including chemotherapy.
It is hoped that the building will be started in the near future and will be operational by June 2022.