Ground Breaking Ceremony, Dyson Cancer Centre, RUH

29 July 2021

Friday 23 July at 1pm marked the official start of work on the new Dyson Cancer Centre at the Royal United Hospitals’ Combe Park site.

The occasion was marked by a Ground Breaking Ceremony. As the structural and civil engineers for the project we were there to watch Caroline Gilleece the Matron for Haematology/Oncology and Lead Cancer Nurse “break the ground” in this poignant event. The project, which has been twenty years in the making, has had the logistical challenges of getting the site ready for construction and planning the relocation of a number of existing departments. We have been part of this journey over the past seven years, including the relocation of the Pharmacy, creating space for the RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre and the enabling works for the new centre. Fund raising has been so important for this project especially the Forever Friends Appeal, raising £10m and our team have participated in these initiatives where they can including the annual ‘Walk of Life’. The new Centre will provide a cancer services hub for half a million people in the South West bringing together the majority of the RUH’s cancer services, including research, under one roof. This includes oncology, chemotherapy and radiotherapy services and a 22 bed inpatient ward.