Set to open in summer 2026, work remains on track to welcome patients from across the North East and North Cumbria.
Work began on the development in December 2023 and over the past 18 months construction has gathered pace with the internal fit out of the hospital now well underway.
The new city centre location for the Eye Hospital has been warmly welcomed by patients who travel from far and wide across the region to use services in Sunderland.
Now a prominent landmark on the city centre skyline, the new Eye Hospital will house all the current clinical services offered from Queen Alexandra Road site when it opens next year. This includes the Cataract Treatment Centre which will continue to play a pivotal role in helping to reduce waiting lists across the region.
With just one year to go until the new Eye Hospital opens, a new time lapse video of the build has now been released. The footage shows the major progress made on site since the first spade was put in the ground 18 months ago.
Dr Ajay Kotagiri is Clinical Director of Ophthalmology Services at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust. He said: “It was brilliant to visit the new hospital site and amazing to see the actual space we will be working in from next summer. The clinical areas are so spacious and well designed and we can’t wait to be able to see and treat patients in this fantastic new facility.”
Ophthalmology services are some of the busiest in the NHS with many people affected by sight problems at some point in their lives.
As construction work continues on the new Eye Hospital building, the Trust’s STS Charity has also launched the ‘Vision Appeal’. The appeal, which aims to raise £1 million, will support ongoing investment into state-of-the-art technology and equipment above and beyond what is included in the build. This will help the team to continue to provide world-class treatment and research and make sure the facility stays as the front of digital innovation in eye care for years to come.
The Vision Appeal aims to fund additional pieces of technology and equipment ranging from £1,000 to £200,000 by encouraging local people and businesses to support the appeal through fundraising and its new Visionaries Programme. Details of the programme as well as how to donate and get involved with events can be found via the Vision Appeal website.
Ajay added: “Our Vision Appeal is a great way for patients and local people to get involved with the new Eye Hospital and be part of something fantastic. We want to stay at the forefront of eye research and innovation in Sunderland and the STS Charity’s support will help us do that. It will help us to fund equipment and technology, over and above what we already have.”
The region’s new Eye Hospital is part of the Riverside Sunderland development and is being built by Kier in partnership with Sunderland City Council.
Cllr Kevin Johnston, cabinet member for business, housing and regeneration, said: “It’s fantastic to see work progressing apace on the new Eye Hospital at Riverside Sunderland.
“Once complete, this world-class facility will be one of the few standalone specialist eye hospitals anywhere in the UK and the region’s only dedicated specialist centre for ophthalmology care.
“This will not only position Sunderland as a national centre for innovation in ophthalmic care but will also provide a major boost to the city economy with thousands more people every month pouring into the city centre. It\s yet another fantastic development for our ever-transforming city.”
In addition to clinical spaces, once finished the new Eye Hospital will also have rooms dedicated for wellbeing. These include a breastfeeding space, a Changing Places room, baby changing facilities and a quiet and faith room. A café will overlook the side of the hospital which faces towards the River Wear.
The new Eye Hospital will also welcome the addition of a dedicated children’s area, with young patients benefitting from their own waiting area and rooms tailored to their care.
Once open, the new Eye Hospital will cement Sunderland’s global reputation for fantastic eye services.
Watch the new time lapse video here:
Source: https://www.stsft.nhs.uk/news/latest-news/one-year-go-countdown-begins-regions-new-eye-hospital
