Four buildings at Royal Berkshire Hospital are set to be demolished as part of plans to transform the hospital in the future.

The Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has submitted plans to demolish two audiology buildings, its former Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) building and an old outpatients building on the west side of the hospital site.

The trust says the buildings are not fit for clinical use and the site needs to be freed up for future development under the Trust’s masterplan for a new hospital.

What will happen to the services provided at these buildings?

The Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) and audiology buildings have already been replaced with a new facility at the Townlands Memorial Hospital in Henley.

READ MORE: Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust creating ear nose and throat hub in Henley

Additionally the trust says the outpatients service still runs at the RBH but the hospital is doing a lot of appointments with patients virtually either via video link or on the phone, where appropriate.

They say this is helping to reduce footfall so the hospital can maintain social distancing and makes it easier for many patients to access their appointments virtually.

What will happen to the site?

The trust plans to demolish the building in February 2021.

Asbestos surveys will be undertaken and the building will be deconstructed by a specialist contractor.

Spoil and rubble will be removed from site by a specialist subcontractor using 18-ton grab trucks.

The buildings will be removed in their entirety and the site will be left clean and clear with any trees on the site to be preserved during the works.

After that, there are plans to transform Royal Berkshire Hospital, which the hospital says will come forward in a future planning application.

READ MORE: Multi-million pound Royal Berkshire Hospital modernisation – have your say survey

The trust is currently running a consultation on how the Royal Berks should be modernised and says hundreds of millions of pounds will be invested over the course of the next ten years “to develop and deliver outstanding NHS services that are fit for the future”.

It says the current hospital layout “is far from perfect” with wards and diagnostic areas distant from each other meaning privacy can be compromised as patients are move around the hospital.

Now looking to develop a blueprint for “an amazing hospital” for local people, the trust wants staff, patients, partners and the local community to help design it.