Willmott Dixon Completes Structural Frame of £140m Derriford Emergency Care Building

Willmott Dixon has reached a key milestone by topping out the £140 million Emergency Care Building at Derriford Hospital, marking the structural completion of the first Wave 1 scheme under the New Hospital Programme to commence main construction.

The building’s frame required 10,900 cubic metres of concrete and 1,900 tonnes of recycled steel reinforcement. Designed with sustainability in mind, the concrete mix replaced 55% of its cement content with ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), a by-product of iron and steel manufacturing. This substitution has resulted in an estimated carbon saving of 1,625 tonnes.

Representatives from University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP), Willmott Dixon, the design team, supply chain partners, and hospital staff gathered at Derriford for the traditional topping out ceremony. This event celebrated the completion of the building’s main structural framework and the transition into the next construction phase.

Scheduled for completion in April 2029, the new facility will offer four clinical floors dedicated to urgent and emergency care for Plymouth, South Devon, and Cornwall. The ground floor will feature an expanded Emergency Department, with the current department repurposed as a dedicated Paediatric Emergency Department upon completion. The first floor will accommodate a Same Day Emergency Care unit, while the upper levels will house four interventional radiology theatres and five new surgical theatres for both emergency and planned procedures. These enhancements will nearly double the capacity of the existing 50-year-old Emergency Department, one of the busiest in the South West.

The project is being delivered through the ProCure23 framework and is among the first New Hospital Programme schemes designed to comply with the NHS Net Zero Building Standard.

Stephen Ford, project director at Willmott Dixon, commented: “Reaching this topping out milestone is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the truly collaborative approach that has defined this project from the very beginning. Working alongside University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, our supply chain partners and specialist consultants, we have focused on creating more than just a building. The commitment, resilience and teamwork shown by everyone involved has been exceptional. We are excited to be playing our part in delivering a hospital that will serve the people of Plymouth and the wider Devon and Cornwall region, and one that every member of the project team can be proud of.”

Stuart Windsor, Future Hospital Programme Director at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, said: “The topping out of the Emergency Care Building marks a significant milestone for the programme and for the future of healthcare in Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall. When it opens, this new building will transform the way in which emergency care is provided. It will give our clinical teams the space and state-of-the-art equipment to provide excellent care and give our patients a facility that we can all be proud of. While there is still much to do before completion in 2029, today is an opportunity to celebrate how far we have come.”

Karin Smyth, Minister of State for Health, added: “This milestone at Derriford Hospital shows the New Hospital Programme making visible progress for local communities, as work continues on a new Emergency Care Building that will support faster access to urgent and emergency care for patients across the South West.”

Reducing embodied carbon has been a priority from the outset. By substituting a significant portion of cement with GGBS, the project has lowered the carbon footprint of the concrete structure, as cement production is the largest source of carbon emissions in concrete. The use of high recycled-content steel reinforcement has further contributed to reducing the structure’s carbon cost without affecting the construction timeline.

Throughout the construction, Willmott Dixon and its supply chain partners have created employment and training opportunities for local residents. Initiatives include apprenticeship weeks for young people and employment support for individuals facing barriers to employment through the company’s Building Lives Academy. Collaborations with local suppliers have ensured that investment remains within the South West economy.

Willmott Dixon brings extensive healthcare construction experience, having delivered over 100 projects across the NHS estate, including acute, mental health, community, and neighbourhood settings, often within live clinical environments. In March 2026, the company was appointed as one of ten construction partners to the Hospital 2.0 Alliance, the delivery vehicle for the New Hospital Programme. In July 2026, Willmott Dixon was named construction partner for the new Women and Children’s Hospital at the Royal Cornwall Hospital site in Truro.