A new £27m operating block at Hinchingbrooke Hospital – with seven theatres, recovery and admission areas – could see construction begin later this year.

Outline plans for the new surgical facilities were approved by NHS England and will replace the theatres in the main hospital building to “reflect modern surgical practice”.

The build is now being reviewed by planners at Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) - and has already received positive feedback.

The national approval means that the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust can move towards the final stage of the process for the redevelopment project.

It will be one of the first driven forward by the new Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System.

Trust bosses say that the block, which will also include a children’s area, “embraces the latest thinking on operating theatre design”.

The full business case will now be developed with work to get underway this autumn.

The project is part of a three-phase redevelopment scheme to replace the old building and modernise Hinchingbrooke Hospital.

Phase 1 of the project was completed before Christmas 2020 and has seen major improvements made to facilities for patients using urgent care services.

Arshiya Khan, chief strategy and transformation officer for the trust, who is leading the redevelopment programme, said: “These are exciting times for our hospital and we are pleased to have gained national support for our outline business case for our theatre redevelopment.

“While we are working on phase 2, our eyes are firmly on phase 3 as we seek to secure urgently-needed investment to support the longer-term plan to ensure our hospital can continue to provide high quality care for our growing population, both now and in the future.”

Roland Sinker and Jan Thomas, joint accountable officers for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System, said the redevelopment was a “key strategic priority for the system”.

They added: “Improving our NHS facilities to meet the needs of the local community is of critical importance to the new Integrated Care System.

“By working together to identify and agree key investments, such as this one, we can deliver a better service, and better health outcomes, for our local people.”