Major work set to start on Whittington Hospital's £84m maternity and neonatal upgrades

The first phase will deliver the major enabling works needed before the hospital’s maternity and neonatal facilities can be transformed

The first major construction work on Whittington Hospital’s £84million maternity and neonatal redevelopment is due to begin shortly, the NHS trust has confirmed.

Foundational work linked to the wider redevelopment of the Archway hospital, which serves the western half of Haringey, had already begun, including demolition of the former energy centre and the move of the hospital’s chapel into the Jenner Building.

Whittington Health NHS Trust’s board has now approved an outline business case for its maternity and neonatal estate programme, allowing the first £34.6m of capital funding to be released for the start of construction work on its new facilities.

The first phase will deliver the major enabling works needed before the hospital’s maternity and neonatal facilities can be transformed. The wider programme will create more modern facilities, increase neonatal capacity and improve the environment for women, pregnant people, babies and families.

The creation of temporary neonatal facilities will also allow the existing neonatal intensive care unit and special care baby unit to move while their permanent new facilities are constructed. This will allow neonatal services to continue throughout the next stage of the programme, well away from noisy works and construction vibration.

Designs for Whittington Hospital's new maternity unit — Designs for Whittington Hospital’s new maternity unit

Whittington Health says protecting the experience of women and pregnant people who choose to give birth at the hospital will be a central part of the programme. The redevelopment has been designed in phases so clinical services can continue and disruption can be to a minimum.

Isabelle Cornet, director of midwifery at the NHS trust, said: “Our top priority is that everyone who gives birth with us has a positive experience. That will remain our focus at every stage.”

The trust will plan work around the needs of people using maternity services, their partners, families and wider support networks. Major structural work will also be “carefully sequenced”.

The first phase of work is currently expected to be completed in October 2027.

Trust chief executive Selina Douglas said: “I know this feels like it has been a long time coming, but we are so excited that the works will now accelerate. This £34.6m investment is a major step towards delivering the modern maternity and neonatal facilities our patients, families and colleagues deserve.

“There is a huge amount of work ahead of us, and carrying out a redevelopment of this scale within a working hospital will be challenging. But I want to reassure people thinking about having a baby with us that we have carefully planned the programme to minimise disruption to ensure that everyone can continue to book their birth with us, with confidence.

“This is the start of a really important period of change for Whittington Hospital, and I am looking forward to seeing the plans we have been developing with our clinical teams begin to become a reality.”

The next planned phase, after October 2027, will bring some of the most visible changes for patients and families. It includes a new permanent neonatal unit, refurbishment of the women’s day unit, early pregnancy assessment unit and postnatal ward, as well as interim maternity triage facilities and supporting accommodation.

Later phases will include further improvements to maternity triage, the labour ward and the hospital’s main entrance.

The full redevelopment is being delivered in stages because construction will take place within a working hospital. The trust says clinical oversight, transition planning and regular quality reviews will be used throughout to protect safety and patient experience.

Whittington’s maternity unit previously came under threat of closure in 2023 but last year it was confirmed that local health bosses had decided instead to close the unit at Royal Free Hospital in Camden, subsequently moving forward on a major investment of maternity and neonatal facilities in Archway.

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