sponsored by HEALTH SECTOR NEWS
Plans submitted for Newcastle’s £30 m cancer centre
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have submitted plans for a new cancer treatment and research centre at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital, the Sir Bobby Robson Institute. The planned building is said to ‘pioneer ground-breaking innovation in cancer treatment’ and ‘significantly increase the number of clinical trials’ available for patients across the North East, north Cumbria and North Yorkshire.
Construction of the new institute will be funded by The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, part of Newcastle Hospitals Charity, with the Trust overseeing its operation. Main contractor Robertson Construction North East was appointed through the ProCure23 framework and has been working with project partners since January 2025, providing pre-construction and design services from RIBA Stage 1 through to Stage 4 of technical design. Working alongside P+HS
Architects, Robertson has supported
New sterile pharmacy completed
A new state-of-the-art regional sterile pharmacy, part of University Hospital Southampton (UHS), has reached structural completion in Southampton. As the only facility of its kind
in the region, the Trust says it will ‘play a pivotal role in delivering faster and more personalised treatments at scale to patients in the city’. The pharmacy will supply critical
the Trust and the charity in developing a design inspired by the molecular structure of a hexagon – a key feature of Rubraca, the first ‘Geordie cancer drug’. The new institute would bring
together the current Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre and the hospital’s cancer and blood disorders research teams, providing a dedicated, three-storey building. Neil Kennedy, Regional Managing
director, Robertson Construction North East, said: “This milestone marks the next step in delivering a facility that will have a profound
impact on cancer treatment and research across both the North East and globally. Our team has been supporting the Trust with pre- construction and design to make sure it is ready to move seamlessly into delivery if approved.” £20 m has already been raised by Sir Bobby Robson Foundation supporters to fund the project, with a fundraising campaign now set to launch to secure the final £10 m. If planning permission is granted, construction is scheduled to begin in spring next year, with opening planned for 2028.
New briefing highlights challenges facing mental health services
A new briefing from the Centre for Mental Health highlighted the most effective ways of supporting people in a mental health crisis. The recommendations include ‘updating estates which are no longer fit for purpose’. Responding to the briefing, Rebecca Gray, NHS Confederation mental health director, said: “This briefing shines a welcome light on the challenges currently facing crisis and inpatient mental health services and support. “NHS and voluntary, charity and social enterprise (VCSE) providers have worked together to
significantly expand crisis provision, including crisis houses and assessment centres, psychiatric liaison services in acute hospitals and phone lines. “The commitments in the
government’s Ten-Year Health Plan such as new Mental Health Emergency Departments, expansion of 24/7 neighbourhood mental health care centres, and assertive outreach teams, can also build on existing work to provide more proactive care and keep people well and out of hospital. “But we know that due to demand outstripping capacity the needs of many individuals are not being met. “All parts of the system – including ICBs as strategic commissioners, providers in mental health, ambulance and acute services – must work together.” The briefing’s recommendations
are: 1. The NHS in England should invest in mental health crisis care, addressing gaps in provision and updating estates which are no longer
20 Health Estate Journal October 2025
fit for purpose, with decisions about investment priorities being led by the available evidence of what is safe and effective. 2. Integrated care boards and NHS mental health service providers should review whether their crisis and acute care provision is sufficient to meet the needs of their populations. 3. Mental health service providers and commissioners should work in partnership with a wide range of service users, and organisations to co-design crisis and acute mental health services. 4. Mental health service providers should not routinely use surveillance technology except as part of robust trials. 5. Research funders should prioritise evaluations and trials of community-based crisis care, of ways to avoid compulsory admissions, of ways to make hospitals safer and more therapeutic, and of alternatives to hospital admission.
medicines to the hospital and other healthcare providers across the South, with capacity to produce between 600,000 and 800,000 doses annually.
An aseptic (sterile) pharmacy is a specialised facility that uses advanced technology and techniques to prepare ready- to-administer (RtA) medicines in a highly controlled sterile environment. These include chemotherapy, intravenous antibiotics and nutritional therapies. By centralising the preparation
of these treatments, the new hub will
significantly expand regional capacity for aseptic products and support initiatives that will enable more patients to receive care in their own homes. The pharmacy now enters its final testing phase and is expected to begin supplying medicines to patients at UHS within the next month. Following that, and subject to MHRA license approval, the unit is planned to become fully operational in early 2026. Other key benefits include
the production of individualised therapies tailored to specific patient needs, rapid response and supply chain efficiency, and scalable production capacity. It is also expected to
help reduce the time nurses spend preparing medications at the bedside, ensuring more time for direct patient care. In addition, with a dedicated advanced-therapy suite, it will play a key role in ensuring UHS is at the forefront of clinical trials research.
P + HS Architects
Paul Collins Photography
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184
