Previous developments

Over recent years we have received capital investment for a number of important projects to support us in providing high quality healthcare to the people of Torbay and South Devon. You can read about some of our previous projects and their impact below.

Our brand new £15.7m Acute Medical Unit (AMU) at Torbay Hospital was officially opened on Tuesday 29 November 2022.

The long awaited multi-million-pound project has delivered a new AMU which is split over two levels and sees a wide variety of patients who require varying levels of care. It has 36 assessment spaces and allows patients to receive timely, high quality care, in the right place. Referrals are taken from both the Emergency Department as well as directly from GPs, the community and other specialties.

The unit’s new location is of particular significance as it is located alongside our Emergency Department. Having these two units located side-by-side improves the flow of patients across the two departments allowing for more timely patient reviews and an overall enhanced patient experience.

Torbay Hospital’s League of Friends donated over £500,000 to the project with the funds helping to equip the AMU with new patient trolleys and recliners.

A huge team of designers, planners, engineers, architects – KTA, staff from across the Trust, and appointed construction partner Kier, worked hard to turn this vision into a reality.

Work began to prepare the site back in late 2020 and, in March 2021, a groundbreaking ceremony marked the official start of the building work.

During the build, over 1,000 people have worked on the site over the last two years with 243 tonnes of steel used to form the frame of the building. More than 1,100m3 of concrete has been used with over 100km of cabling laid and 460 light fittings installed. In addition, 92 per cent of all the construction waste was diverted from landfill.

Dartmouth’s brand new £5.4million Health and Wellbeing Centre was officially opened on 9 May 2023 by David Fursdon, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Devon.

Based at the top of town in Dartmouth next to the park and ride, the building gives local people access to a broad range of health and wellbeing services in one place, by bringing together GPs, community nurses, therapists, Dartmouth Caring and Wellbeing Pharmacy.

The opening ceremony marks the completion of the build which started in 2021.

The centre is part of plans across Devon to bring health and care services and the voluntary sector together to make it easier for people to receive the care they need, in their community. It also allows the clinicians and specialists involved in providing someone’s care to work closer together to provide seamless joined-up care.

The ceremony, hosted by chairman Sir Richard Ibbotson, was attended by David Fursdon, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Devon, alongside representatives from the Town and District Councils, and a number of local groups including Dartmouth League of Friends, Dartmouth Medical Practice and its Patient Participation Group, Dartmouth Caring, and many more.

The building project has been led by Torbay and South Devon’s strategic estates partner – gbpartnerships – with the building work carried out by Westcountry building firm, Classic Builders, supported by a wide range of contractors, and our architects KTA.

gbpartnerships has been working with us through the SDH Innovations Partnership since 2021. This 50:50 Joint Venture Partnership is helping to solve local estates issues, enabling gbp to bring commercial acumen to the partnership and leverage investment.

A new multi-million-pound endoscopy centre at Torbay Hospital is now open and will treat more people who are awaiting diagnosis and treatment for cancer and bowel disease.

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust’s endoscopy service carries out around 200 procedures a week, and the extra room in the new centre will enable more people to be seen more quickly, resulting in a quicker diagnosis, and improved patient experiences and outcomes.

The unit was funded by NHS England to address diagnostic delays and improve cancer outcomes, and extra funding from the South West Endoscopy Training Academy to create a state-of-the-art training centre will help train the region’s future endoscopists and nurses in modern buildings that are fit for the 21st century.

Dr James Neale, consultant gastroenterologist and lead for endoscopy, said: “Early detection of lower and upper gastro-intestinal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease is so important to give people the best possible outcomes.

“We are committed to making sure people are seen and can begin their care as quickly as possible, and our new centre will enable us to see and treat more people, reduce waiting times, and improve people’s experiences and outcomes.”

The opening marks another significant milestone in the trust’s Building a Brighter Future work to improve people’s experiences and outcomes of care following the opening of a £2.8 million radiotherapy planning CT suite in October 2023, and a £15 million acute medical unit in December 2022.

A new £15million investment in two new theatres is now complete and opened in February 2024 which will significantly increase capacity, with an extra 4,500 people treated each year needing hip, knee and eye operations.

The Torbay endoscopy training centre was opened by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust chairman Sir Richard Ibbotson and Lord Julian Darling on Tuesday 14 November 2023.

A £15million operating theatre building at Torbay Hospital which will help reduce the time people are waiting for surgery is now open.

The new building has two operating theatres and additional pre-operative assessment and recovery spaces. Over time this expansion will allow Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust to support 4,500 more people each year.

It is expected that one theatre will focus on breast and orthopaedic surgery, and this will help provide focus on day surgery hip, knee and shoulder replacements across the organisation. The other will be used by the eye surgery team.

Dr Theresa Hinde, Clinical Director of Day Surgery and Consultant Anaesthetist at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are so proud of our local, national and even international reputation for excellence in day surgery that has grown over the past 30 years. Around 85% of surgery at Torbay Hospital is undertaken as a day case which we know has tremendous benefits for the people we care for, and we currently support around 12,000 people a year though the unit.

“I am excited to see the benefits of these new facilities for both the experience of our patients and the staff who work in them. The number of people we support will increase over time once the theatres become fully operational, which will help reduce waiting lists but more importantly help us treat local people sooner.”

The brand-new facilities provide a more comfortable space for people having an operation and will enhance the working environment for staff.

The funding was received from the national Targeted Investment Fund (TIF) which is supporting schemes across the country to provide additional elective care capacity, helping to reduce the backlog from the COVID-19 pandemic. The theatres at Torbay Hospital is the first TIF funded elective hub to open.

The additional theatres mean more people, who require less complex surgery, will be seen and treated sooner than ever before. The theatres will also help to reduce the backlog of those patients with less urgent need as we continue to work together to improve people’s treatment, care and outcomes.

This forms part of Torbay and South Devon’s Building a Brighter Future (BBF) programme which is helping to improve people’s experiences and outcomes of care.

The ribbon was cut on Friday 9 February 2024 by Liz Davenport, Chief Executive, and Sir Richard Ibbotson, Chair at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.