THE budget for a new community hospital in Rhyl has gone up by £20million.

The Full Business Case for a project - to revamp services provided to residents in Rhyl and North Denbighshire - will be presented to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board meeting on November 12.

Under proposals is a new hospital on the site of the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the refurbishment of the existing Grade-II listed hospital building.

The project is now budgeted to cost about £64million to complete.

In 2018, the cost of the hospital development doubled to £40.2m.

The capital costs for the refurbishment of the North Denbighshire Community Hospital and provision of new buildings alongside was first estimated at £22.2million.

Rhyl Journal:

Cost increases since the completion of the Outline Business Case (OBC) include:

  • General increase in costs linked to the national framework for public sector projects.
  • £1.35m spend on energy saving and green initiatives, to meet Welsh Government requirements.
  • £950,000 to meet updated fire regulation requirements.
  • £3m to cover an increased scope of services within the development.
  • £3.6m toward structural repairs to the existing Royal Alexandra Hospital building.
  • £2.5m increase in programme costs.
  • £730,000 additional costs associated with Covid-19.

Services will include community beds, a same-day minor injuries and illness service, a treatment zone, and outpatient therapy and IV therapy services.

Sexual health, community dental, radiology, adult psychology, older people’s mental health, and child and adolescent mental Health services would also be provided from the site.

Infrastructure improvements including multi-disciplinary working spaces and car parking enhancements are also included in the development.

Rhyl Journal:

Gareth Evans, project director, said: “We had really positive, constructive feedback over the summer which has helped shape the way the proposal has developed.

“We’re now looking forward to presenting the Full Business Case next month and continuing progress on the project.”

The revised programme of work, if approved, would see construction work on the new hospital begin in March 2021, with an estimated completion date in February 2023.

The overall project, including the refurbishment work in the existing Royal Alexandra Hospital, would aim to be completed in September 2023.

More than 200 people took part in a survey over the summer to gather feedback on the project. Feedback on issues including parking, plans for the buildings already on the hospital site remain available on the health board’s website.

The development is being described as a new health and well-being campus that aims to bring essential care services ‘closer to home'.

In 2018, during an exclusive interview with the Journal, Mr Evans painted a picture as to what the North Denbighshire Community Hospital - on and around the site of the Royal Alexandra Hospital - will offer.

If approved by the health board on November 12, the project will then be sent to Welsh Government for further scrutiny and approval.