Frequently asked questions & answers

There were a number of factors that contributed to the decision to relocate to Cambridge.

• Generally an ageing patient population means that an increasing number of our patients have other diseases and conditions as well as their heart and/or lung problem. Relocating to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus will mean patients have improved access to the other specialist diagnostic and clinical services provided within Addenbrooke’s.
• Locating Papworth adjacent to Addenbrooke’s Hospital supports the development of new services such as primary angioplasty for the treatment of people who have suffered a heart attack.
• It is important that Papworth Hospital remains at the cutting edge of research in order to continue to develop state- of-the-art treatment for the patients of tomorrow. Building a new hospital with close links to the University of Cambridge, the Medical Research Council and Addenbrooke’s Hospital will increase our ability to develop new research programmes and will contribute significantly to this site developing into a world class centre for clinical and biomedical sciences.
• The current site at Papworth Everard is cramped and space to support future levels of increasing demand is severely limited. The site has many pre-war buildings and overall the hospital was not designed for the delivery of modern healthcare. The provision of new purpose built accommodation with state-of-the-art facilities will greatly improve the environment and the care that Papworth Hospital can provide.
• Relocating to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus will help to improve access to the hospital. Currently Papworth Hospital is accessible by road but is almost inaccessible by public transport. The new Guided Busway and the new link road from the M11 to the Biomedical Campus will make it easier for people to access the hospital by both car and public transport. In addition, the public consultation carried out from June to September 2005 confirmed that the preferred option for the redevelopment of Papworth Hospital was to move to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus adjacent to Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Clinical School rather than redevelop the existing Papworth Everard site.

When Papworth Hospital moves to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, it will remain a Foundation Trust, housed in its own building and grounds. It will remain autonomous in terms of management arrangements, independent from other organisations on the campus. There is no reason to believe that altering the geographic location of the hospital will compromise its current high standards.

The new hospital will be funded via the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). PFI provides a way of funding public buildings such as hospitals and schools by attracting private investment and therefore avoiding the need for public funds for capital expenditure. A group of private firms including architects and construction companies are contracted to design, build and maintain the building over the lifetime of the contract - typically 30 years.

We can see no reason for the current friendly atmosphere to change when we relocate to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Papworth Hospital will transfer to its own building and will retain independent Foundation Trust status. However, we do acknowledge that this is a key issue for patients, relatives and staff and will be working closely with staff to ensure we are able to transfer the friendly atmosphere, ethos and culture we already have.

There is evidence to support the view that patients benefit from calm, peaceful surroundings and lots of attention will be paid to the design of the new hospital, as well as landscaping the surrounding area, to achieve the best environment for patients.

The new hospital will provide virtually 100% single bedrooms with en-suite facilities. Although not all patients state they wish to be in a single room, many patients prefer the privacy provided by a single room with access to individual toilet and bathroom facilities. Single rooms allow patients to talk to their doctor and nurses in private and they also help to minimise the risk of hospital acquired infections. Single rooms also ensure that the Trust meets fully the Department of Health requirement for single sex accommodation.

Car parking will be an important consideration on the new campus. A new multi-story car park for staff and visitors will be built adjacent to the new hospital. In addition there will be access to off site parking schemes such as the Park and Ride.

This is a major consideration for Papworth Hospital, Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the local authorities. The guided bus between St Ives and Cambridge has a link to the Biomedical Campus and the Addenbrooke's Access Road (AAR) provides a direct route from the M11 to the Campus. The AAR was opened in October 2010.

While the current bed and breakfast listing we give out to patients and relatives contains accommodation addresses within easy reach of Papworth Hospital, only two of the properties are actually within Papworth village. The remainder are situated within the surrounding villages and towns. Addenbrooke’s Hospital also has a list of local hotels and B&Bs, with the majority located in the area around Addenbrooke’s Hospital, in the city, Cherry Hinton, or Fulbourn. We will continue to review the provision of accommodation for relatives/carers.

All the services currently provided at Papworth Hospital will be provided in the new hospital, however, building a new hospital is a perfect opportunity to take a look at how we deliver all our services to ensure we are offering first-class care to patients. With this in mind we are exploring improving access for patients by offering out of hours and weekend appointments and treatments, ensuring systems are in place to support patients being discharged as soon as they are fit to do so and ensuring the design of the new hospital meets patients’ needs.

A large number of our staff have been involved in the design work that has taken place to date, and this design work represents the standard we have set for the architects and builders who will build the hospital.

Some key design features of the new building include:

• Virtually 100% single rooms with en-suite facilities
• Locating clinical departments in a way that ensures patient travel distances within the hospital are as short as possible and that care is delivered as effectively as possible

Redeveloping the hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, will increase our capacity to meet the current and future waiting time targets.

We already involve people who use our services to help plan for the future and we are continually working to improve and develop ways in which we consult with people to enable them to express their views.

You could become a member of our Patient Experience Panel where you would be actively involved in contributing to the future of Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust by attending quarterly meetings and some of the hospital working groups.

You could also become a member of Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which offers the opportunity to share your views and opinions on how we do things to help us shape the future, or simply keep in touch and hear about developments.

If you would like more information about getting involved, please contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 01480 364896.

We need to maintain a very high-quality service during the years leading up to the proposed development and for this reason we will continue to invest, as necessary, in buildings, equipment and staff to ensure that high-quality services are maintained and that we can treat as many patients as possible. We will, however, consider solutions that could integrate into a new hospital, be sold or are specified to last only a limited time.

The Trust Board are aware that Papworth Hospital is an integral part of Papworth village. We will work closely with the Varrier-Jones Foundation, as well as the District and Parish Councils, to facilitate a mutually satisfactory use of the existing site when the hospital moves to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The new Papworth Hospital will continue to operate as a separate Trust and will be independent from other organisations on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, however in order to maximise the advantages of co-location with Addenbrooke’s Hospital the two hospitals will be physically linked.

The clinical vision for cardiac and respiratory services was developed in conjunction with Addenbrooke’s Hospital to ensure that patients can access the most appropriate clinical services in the most appropriate hospital. Central to the clinical vision is the concept of partnership working between Papworth Hospital, Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine. Each organisation will maintain their own identity, speciality and strengths but will be able to deliver more integrated, improved services for patients as a result of the partnership.

Papworth Hospital will not be merging with Addenbrooke’s Hospital when it moves to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. The Papworth Hospital Board of Directors has confirmed that Papworth Hospital can only move to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus if:

• The hospital continues to be clinically, organisationally and managerially autonomous
• Affordable housing is available in the area to assist with the relocation, retention and recruitment of staff
• There is improved public transport and access to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus

Papworth will remain a Foundation Trust, housed in its own building and grounds. It will remain autonomous in terms of management arrangements and independent from other organisations on the campus, however it will maximise working with other partners including Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, therefore making the best use of opportunities for research and development.