I received the following email from Barts Health NHS Trust:
The Royal London Hospital has officially thrown open the doors of its brand new entrance (on 31 March 2014), ready to welcome the one million people cared for by hospital staff each year.
The completed atrium, opposite Whitechapel tube station, provides easier access to the main hospital services for patients, visitors and staff, particularly those attending the Children’s Hospital and Women’s Centre, Renal and Urology departments.
A meeting area and food and drink outlet serving hot and cold drinks and snacks will also be available in the new space.
The opening of the front entrance marks the next chapter in the hospital’s move to the world class facilities at the new 17-storey building, officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2013.
Director of Redevelopment at Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs The Royal London Hospital, Russell Gates said: “I am delighted that we have been able to make our brand new hospital even easier to navigate and created a more pleasant environment to improve the experience of patients and visitors and match the excellent care provided.”
The new front entrance benefits from natural light-enhancing glass panels that when laid flat would measure the area of an Olympic swimming pool (1200m2).
Each of the glass panels used in the construction are designed to improve heat retention in the area by 75% and the aluminium structure supporting the glass has been produced using 100% recycled materials.
Leigh Davis, Operations Manager, Skanska, added: “The opening of the dramatic new entrance and meeting space is the culmination of two years of extensive collaboration between the Trust, Skanska and Capital Hospitals Ltd (CHL). This has enabled work to be completed with the minimum of disruption to the functioning of the hospital.”
The work has been carried out since January 2013, sometimes taking place out-of-hours to avoid any disruption to ongoing clinical services.
The final phase of the work will continue to see the Emergency Department benefit from having its own dedicated entrance and space currently occupied by existing temporary corridors will be transformed into high-quality treatment areas. It is expected to be completed by October 2014.
During out-of-hours, between 10pm - 7am, people should access the hospital using the Stepney Way entrance, with the exception of those going to the Emergency Department.