Work on hospital's £58m Energy Centre 'on schedule'

A £58m project to replace an NHS hospital's 50-year-old electrical infrastructure is "on schedule" for completion by the end of next year, its director of strategy said.

Work on Kettering General Hospital's Energy Centre started last March and it is hoped the facility will "renew and boost" the hospital's electricity capacity.

It will also see the hospital move away from using rented temporary boilers, which it said was its only current source of heat and hot water - leading to interruptions to service requiring essential maintenance and repair.

Polly Grimmett, from the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) group, said work on the scheme "continues to progress at pace".

Work has recently started on the steel frame of the building while other enabling works are also under way.

On its completion, the Energy Centre will provide air source heat pumps​, circulation pumps​ and back-up generators​.

Grimmett, who is director of strategy at UHN, said: "Over the summer a number of off-site works will take place including bringing the main power supply from the middle of Kettering to the hospital site.

"This will require works along Rothwell Road and hence one carriageway will be closed for a number of weeks - mainly during the school holidays - to help reduce the impact on traffic flow.

"We apologise for any inconvenience this will cause but clearly it is vitally important that the hospital ensures it has appropriate electricity and heating for the future."

The Energy Centre comes ahead of - and is separate to - a planned rebuild of Kettering General Hospital, due to begin between 2032 and 2034.

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