Work starts on Dyson cancer hub

BUILDING work officially started yesterday on a new specialist cancer services hub funded by the charitable arm of tech firm Dyson at the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath.

It will act as a cancer treatment hub for half a million people in the West when it opens in 2023.

The James Dyson Foundation has contributed £4m towards the new centre, the largest donation in the hospital’s history.

The building’s design will have an emphasis on natural light and will provide space for relatives and carers to stay overnight. Inpatient rooms will be at the top of the building so that patients are offered views over the surrounding countryside.

The project comes 10 years after the opening of the Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care at the RUH, which now cares for around 500 babies annually.

The neonatal unit’s design, devised by Bath architecture firm Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, has won several global awards including recognition from the Royal Institute of British Architects and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

The founder of the Wiltshirebased firm Sir James Dyson, who visited the site in May, said: “The Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care demonstrated the very significant effect that design and architecture can have on the recovery of patients.

“The bright, well considered new spaces quickly proved their value to their tiny patients, something that we hope to replicate at the new Dyson

Cancer Centre.”