A MULTI-MILLION pound treatment centre at Ipswich Hospital is today a step closer to reality, as these exclusive new pictures show.The Garrett Anderson centre is the biggest new building project at the hospital for thirty years and today the hospital have announced the name of the private sector partner who will provide the funding for the £26million building.

A MULTI-MILLION pound treatment centre at Ipswich Hospital is today a step closer to reality, as these exclusive new pictures show.

The Garrett Anderson centre is the biggest new building project at the hospital for thirty years and today the hospital have announced the name of the private sector partner who will provide the funding for the £26million building.

Following a rigorous assessment process, Prospect Healthcare have been announced as the company who will help to move the hospital's vision forward.

When complete, the state-of-the-art centre will include:

n a new Accident and Emergency department,

n a critical care centre,

n a day surgery suite

n theatres and beds dedicated to planned or 'elective care'.

Building work is due to begin by the end of the year and these latest pictures show how the revolutionary new centre will look when it is completed.

Christine Smart, chairman of the Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, said: "We are delighted to have reached this stage after many months of careful and detailed work from both our prospective partners, known as 'bidders'.

"The Garrett Anderson Centre will transform health care for local people."

Patients and staff have been very closely involved with the planning and design for the new centre and will continue to work in partnership with Prospect Healthcare to ensure the hospital has a building tailor-made to meet its needs.

Each area of the new centre has a dedicated project team, which includes patient representatives and staff.

One of the biggest concerns about the centre is the amount of extra traffic it may create, but the hospital say they are working to do everything they can to prevent car-parking problems.

Stephen Harrup, director of estates and facilities, said: "The next stage is for us to work with Prospect in refining our planning application and travel strategy which will address how we are going to manage car-parking and other transport issues.

"The travel plan is vital and it includes our proposal for a multi-storey car-park, and developing a new access road into the hospital so that buses can bring people much closer to the centre."

The Garrett Anderson Centre's name was chosen after an open competition and reflects the immense contribution to healthcare of Suffolk-born Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the UK's first female doctor.

The partnership with Prospect is a private finance initiative, which means Prospect will fund the building of the centre and then lease it to the NHS.

John Young, chairman of Prospect Healthcare (Ipswich), said: "We are delighted that the trust chose our scheme and we look forward to working closely with their team over the coming months to refine the design in time to start construction at the end of the year."

What do you think of the plans for the new centre? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk