With new theatres, wards and buildings now open, the Trust has closed the Plym Theatres at Derriford Hospital.

This means contractors can prepare for the strip-out, structural surveys, and eventual demolition of the building which sits at the front of the site.

Nicki Collas, Associate Future Hospital Director at UHP, said: “Building works on a busy acute hospital site demand a huge amount of investment, preparation and planning.

“We have been creating new wards and buildings during the past few years with the ultimate goal of creating space on site for the much needed new Urgent and Emergency Care Facility.

“Project teams and contractors have been working very hard to move clinical activity into a range of new theatres and clinical areas and we want to thank staff who have fully engaged in this activity throughout, as well as patients and visitors for their understanding as we move into this next phase.”

Visitors to the hospital site will see the hoardings around the site extend to a bigger area, and robust noise attenuation plans will be in place to keep the impact on the surrounding environment, patients and staff, to a minimum.

From September to November 2024 the teams involved in the strip-out of the spaces will be conducting surveys and structural investigations before taking down internal walls in preparation for the full demolition, leaving the building as an empty shell.

Subject to approval to proceed, the exterior building shell demolition will then take place in the new year.