MKUH is in the early stages of planning to build a new ward block, named ‘Oak Wards’, to the east of the hospital, which would provide 48 new beds at the Trust.
The proposed development provides two 24 bed wards across two floors to increase the hospital’s capacity of medical beds. There is also the potential to double the capacity to a total of 96 medical beds with a second expansion phase in the future.
Joe Harrison, Chief Executive Officer at MKUH explains: “This development plays a pivotal role in providing a hospital that can meet the acute care needs of the growing city of Milton Keynes. We are enthusiastic about the prospect and the positive impact these plans promise to bring.”
As part of the hospital's wider infrastructure works, groundwork activity is currently taking place at the potential site for ‘Oak Wards’. This larger scheme of work will provide a necessary upgrade to utilities that serve the hospital. Should the Trust’s business case for ‘Oak Wards’ be approved, the hospital anticipates that construction would start late summer this year, with an aimed completion date of December 2025.
The growth requirements of MKUH have seen the delivery of several high-profile site improvement projects over recent years, including a new Main Entrance, Academic Centre and Cancer Centre. More recently, the Maple Centre development opened in October 2022, delivering an integrated approach to Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) for patients as well as an acute assessment ward.
The hospital site is currently developing its cancer care service with a new state-of-the-art radiotherapy centre, which is due to ted this summer. The Trust is also to receive funding to deliver a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital by 2030. Further details of the site development projects at MKUH can be found at MK View
