Contractor appointed for £36m Sunderland Eye Hospital development

A Manchester construction firm has been confirmed as the preferred construction partner for the £36m Sunderland Eye Hospital development.

Kier Group’s appointment as the preferred bidder follows a competitive tendering process. The development will replace the existing 75 year old Sunderland Eye Infirmary facilities on Queen Alexandra Road.

Healthcare leaders at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust and partners at Sunderland City Council have shared a 3D visual of how the new building will look once completed in 2024. The planned new Eye Hospital in Sunderland will also continue to be home to a Cataract Treatment Centre.

Work is expected to begin on site at Riverside Sunderland next spring. All clinical services currently provided from the existing Sunderland Eye Infirmary will transfer to the new state-of-the-art facility to be delivered from a purpose-built environment in a much more accessible city centre location.

Ken Bremner MBE, chief executive of South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is another important milestone in our journey to creating a new fit-for-purpose Eye Hospital and very exciting for staff and patients to see how the stunning new facility will look.

“Sunderland has always been home to specialist eye services in our region and we are very proud to continue this legacy by building a hospital that will serve our communities for many future generations to come.

“As the NHS recovers from the impact of COVID-19, the new Eye Hospital will be essential in making sure we do all we can to reduce waiting lists and make sure that local people and patients across the wider region can be treated as quickly as possible.”

Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Plans for a more accessible Eye Hospital, that matches up to the world-class team that occupies it, is something many people in the city are excited to see realised, and this visualisation of how the hospital will look really does bring it to life.

“We’re immensely proud of the transformation we are leading at Riverside Sunderland. This is one part of a huge programme of change that is creating places where people will live, work, play and use, and seeing a 3D fly-through that showcases how this building will change the skyline is quite something.”

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