The new home for Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology reached a significant construction milestone today.
The completion of the concrete structure of the new centre for advancing eye health, in St Pancras, Camden, was marked with a traditional topping out ceremony.
The new centre, project name Oriel, is a partnership between Moorfields Eye Hospital, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Charity. Due to open in 2027, the centre will bring clinicians from the hospital's City Road site and scientists under one roof for the first time.
Dedicated education space located throughout the building will offer collaborative environments for knowledge sharing and an enhanced space for students to learn from world leaders in ophthalmology and vision science. The centre has been co-designed by staff and patients to ensure it offers an inclusive environment where innovative research will flourish, staff will thrive and patients will experience an enhanced seamless patient experience.
The state-of-the-art centre will be the first NHS digitally enabled SMART hospital in which technology will play a pivotal role in how people use the building. Improving access and reducing eye healthcare inequalities have been an important focus through the design process. Patients will be able to access world-leading specialist care virtually via the centre's digital front door, helping deliver care closer to home and avoid unnecessary visits.
An innovation hub will be located in the heart of the new centre to encourage collaboration and is intended to be a catalyst for interaction, dissemination of knowledge and cross fertilisation of ideas and concepts between clinicians and researchers at the forefront of translational ophthalmic science, especially in the digital domain. The innovative building design has created standardised scientific wet lab 'neighbourhoods', where each research group will have access to specialist tissue cell laboratories, genomic research and state-of-the-art cellular and molecular imaging.
The centre, under construction by Bouygues UK, is located in the heart of the King's Cross Knowledge Quarter, steps away from UCL's Bloomsbury campus.
The new centre has been funded by proceeds from the sale of the current sites near Old Street, £100m from generous donors to Moorfields Eye Charity and UCL Advancement, and £110m from the Department of Health and Social Care through the first wave in the New Hospital Programme.
Professor Alan Thompson, Dean of the UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences, said: "Today is a major milestone in a long journey to create an integrated centre that will bring researchers and scientists alongside patients. Our ambition to build a centre that will create space to speed up the development of new ophthalmic treatments is now a reality. We believe this new innovative centre will help us remain at the forefront of ophthalmic science. The enviable dedicated space for education throughout the building will provide us with exemplar facilities for training future generations of ophthalmic experts."
Laura Wade-Gery, chair of Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The topping out is a momentous occasion in our journey to create an integrated centre for us to continue our world-leading research and ophthalmic care. We are extremely proud of the centre's co-design ethos and believe we have created an environment that will enable us to continue to provide the highest quality patient care while driving forward innovation in ophthalmology. Ophthalmology clinics account for 10% of all hospital NHS outpatient visits and this figure is expected to rise, so we designed the new centre to ensure it is built to meet future demand."
Robert Dufton, Moorfields Eye Charity chief executive, said: "We were delighted to invite our generous leadership donors to this landmark event. Philanthropy has played an integral role in the funding of this new centre and we are proud to hear how it will help ensure Moorfields and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology continue to be world leaders in ophthalmic health care innovation. Ongoing philanthropic support from Moorfields Eye Charity, thanks to our generous donors, will be critical to achieving this innovation."
Natalie Forrest, senior responsible owner of the New Hospital Programme, said: "It is incredible to see how much progress has been made and wonderful to see the structure reach its full height. We are thrilled the new centre for eye care, research, and education has moved forward as part of the New Hospital Programme, which marks a step change in how we design and build new hospital facilities. This incredible state-of-the-art centre will transform eye care and health for people worldwide."
Fabienne Viala, chair and chief executive officer of Bouygues UK, said: "I'm thrilled to celebrate the topping out of this incredible project. The progress we've made truly showcases the power of our collaboration and shared vision. While we are proud to be delivering our technical expertise, we're equally dedicated to providing training and job opportunities for local residents and promoting careers in construction throughout the project. Working with Camden Council and the Knowledge Quarter we've already made significant strides towards our goal of over 100 meaningful work placements, and it's incredibly rewarding to hear from our apprentices and graduates about how valuable this experience has been for them."
Other areas of innovation showcased in the new centre:
- Co-design has been at the heart of creating the centre for advancing eye health. Patients and staff have been instrumental in every step of the Oriel journey and still continue to offer support in developing plans to move into the building in 2027.
- The centre's 14 purpose designed theatres will enable clinicians to be highly efficient, increase elective activity and deliver an excellent experience for patients.
- Outpatient areas have been specifically designed using a standardised approach to future proof for changing care delivery pathways; and the team has trialled and tested diagnostic test pathways for improved patient experience and clinical efficiency.
- In the heart of the new centre there will be an area dedicated to patient support, regardless of whether it is help with receiving care, getting involved in research or education about eye conditions.
- Dry labs will form one unified research area for both Moorfields and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology staff dedicated to experimental medicine, novel device development and early phase research.
- Seven education spaces throughout the centre will be shared by the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital to create opportunities for collaborative teaching and learning.
- There will be 18 dedicated welfare spaces for staff and students throughout the building. One of the areas is a restaurant with a roof terrace with views of the London skyline.
