Build begins on Royal Surrey’s new Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre | News

Work has started this week on Royal Surrey’s brand new Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre, bringing state-of-the-art facilities to Royal Surrey and increasing the Trust’s surgical capacity. 

The £41.5m development, which it is expected will be completed at the end of 2025, will house six new operating theatres and help to build on Royal Surrey’s world-class services in robotic and non-robotic surgery. 

The new Centre will enable an additional 7,000 patients to receive surgery every year, helping Royal Surrey respond to increasing demand for cancer surgery and bring down waiting lists for all elective (planned) surgical procedures.

The building will be situated at the back of Royal Surrey County Hospital, accessed by car from Egerton road. The new two storey building will serve as the main entrance for surgical patients coming to the hospital with the exception of paediatric patients and day surgery, which will remain as a separate unit in its current location. It will link to the main hospital and its existing operating theatres.

A total of 60 per cent of all surgeries performed at Royal Surrey are cancer related surgeries and the Trust supports a large catchment area across the South East of England and beyond of up to three million people - just under five per cent of the UK’s population. Royal Surrey is the fourth, nearing the third, largest cancer centre in the country.

Chief Executive of NHS Foundation Trust, Louise Stead said: 

“We are very excited to have started work on our new Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre which will become one of Europe’s leading surgical centres.

“As a regional cancer centre and large district general hospital providing a wide range of services, we need to keep adapting to serve our growing population and keep up with the ever changing technology on offer.

“This whole project is going to transform our services and ensure we are supporting thousands more people on the road to recovery and improving their experience of care.

“I am hugely proud of everyone involved in this project and look forward to seeing it all come together over the next year or so.”

The new facility, which will replace Royal Surrey’s aging Surgical Short Stay Unit, will be made up of several modular buildings constructed off-site, which will then be transported to site and installed. The on-site construction works currently underway are to prepare the ground for the modular buildings and fit enabling utilities such as a new electricity supply.

Royal Surrey Charity’s Cancer and Surgical Innovation Campaign is focused on securing the latest surgical equipment and technology and enhancing the experience of patients receiving surgery at Royal Surrey. To find out more about the campaign, please visit: https://www.royalsurreycharity.org.uk/appeal/surgerycancerappeal