Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is set to expand its critical care facilities with the development of a new five-storey building on its campus at Great Western Road, Gloucester.
The Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has identified the need for a modular extension to accommodate rising demand, which is projected to grow by three per cent annually. Currently, the Department of Critical Care offers 19 beds but cannot meet the ongoing clinical need.
Plans submitted to Gloucester City Council outline a facility comprising 24 critical care beds arranged in open wards, alongside 12 isolation beds. The building will incorporate essential supporting spaces such as stores, clean and dirty utilities, patient testing areas, and staff facilities including offices, rest and welfare rooms. Additional amenities like waiting rooms, overnight accommodation, and a kitchen are also included.
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To operate the new unit, the Trust anticipates a roughly 20 per cent increase in medical, nursing, and administrative staff.
The existing Tower Block, which currently houses the critical care unit (DCC), requires urgent modernisation due to outdated mechanical and electrical systems that no longer meet current standards. The proposed modular building will allow patients and staff to temporarily relocate from the Tower Block during its refurbishment, preventing disruption to critical care services.
“A new modular building means that the urgent improvements to the Tower Block building can be completed without the DCC being closed down during the works as patients and staff will decant to the new building,” the application documents state.
In addition to the modular build, the Trust is separately updating the Tower Block with new fire alarm systems, nurse call infrastructure, and ward upgrades. This extensive modernisation programme is expected to span four years, with each ward, including the DCC, being closed for approximately six months at a time.
To ensure continuous critical care availability at the hospital, the new facility must be operational prior to the Tower Block refurbishment commencing. The modular approach has been chosen specifically to facilitate rapid delivery of the new unit.
Patients admitted to the new facility will come from various hospital departments such as the current critical care unit in the Tower Block, the emergency department, resuscitation areas, obstetrics, theatres, and wards including respiratory high dependency and paediatrics.
City planners are due to review the proposals by 3 November 2026.