Work on a new dedicated treatment centre and emergency department at Ipswich Hospital will be completed next year, health bosses have confirmed.

Barnes Construction started work on the urgent treatment centre (UTC) and emergency department (ED) last year, which is part of the Heath Road hospital's £52million investment programme.

Hospital staff and clinical team members recently took an on-site tour of the new facilities for the first time along with construction representatives.

When completed in 2023, the new two-storey UTC will offer treatment for a range of urgent but not life-threatening conditions, freeing up the ED to focus on providing care for the most critically ill and seriously injured patients.

Hospital specialists will work alongside primary care clinicians in one area, which will have a single front door for all walk-in urgent and emergency patients, making sure they are seen and treated by the right team.

As part of an additional £3.2million investment in diagnostic technology, the build will also include a new CT scanner, which will work alongside the new MRI scanner now in place in the diagnostic imaging department at the hospital.

Paul Fenton, director of estates and facilities at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Ipswich Hospital, said: “The construction of our new emergency department and urgent treatment centre will create greater capacity and improve the experience of patients using our services.

"We would like to thank members of the public for their patience and understanding whilst we carry out these construction works to improve the hospital for the population we serve.”

As well as Barnes Construction, several local businesses are also working on the project including KLH Architects, Castons, Ceetech, JSH and Sweco UK.