Isles of Scilly Integrated Health and Social Care Facility

The facility will be located on the site of St Mary's Community Hospital and land next to St Mary's Health Centre.

It will provide 12 residential care home beds, NHS inpatient beds and a modern maternity suite. Other outpatient services will continue. These include x-ray, minor injury unit, dental and consulting rooms.

The facility will be part of a new model of care. It will provide robust services to keep people at home or close to home where clinically possible. This will include maximising digital technologies and remote support to provide more enabled care on the islands.

We are aware of concerns raised about noise in the Porthloo area and want to apologise for any inconvenience caused. The activity is linked to our new Isles of Scilly Integrated Health and Social Care Facility. We hope the information below will offer some reassurance about the project.

Following planning and national funding approvals, initial building works on the facility are now moving forward at pace. This includes laying the foundations for the modular build elements on land next to St Mary’s Community Hospital.

We pleased to confirm the 29 units that will make up the modular builds have now been shipped to the islands from Hull. They arrived on Sunday 18 August on board the Breb Countess, which is now anchored a short distance off the coast. Landing craft are being used to bring the units ashore at Porthloo slipway. Working with the harbour master, the construction teams are aiming to offload 3 to 6 modules per high tide. Weather dependent, the decant is expected to be completed by Friday 23 August. Once complete, the modules will be stored in the boatyard before being transported to the hospital construction site. This will start on Monday 26 August.

The arrival of the modules before the weather turns was crucial to avoid the risk of extra logistical costs and delays. However, the decant is complex because the units can only be offloaded at high tide and in daylight. As a result, some delivery work was carried out on Sunday afternoon. This involved unloading equipment to ensure the landing craft were ready to go at first light on Monday 19 August, including cranes, ballasts and tractors. This was vital to making sure the offload of the modular units is carried out as quickly and safely as possible within the tide and weather windows.

We understand the concerns raised about the high level of activity in an area which intersects with the coast path. This small section of coast path has been temporarily diverted. Please be assured that strict safety is being maintained at all times. This includes onsite supervisors in high-vis jackets to manage activity in the boatyard and ensure the public remain at a safe distance. Our teams are doing all they can to keep this short-term disruption to a minimum. Again, we are sorry for any noise and inconvenience caused.

We would like to thank you for your patience and hope you will continue to work with us to support this major investment in health and social care on the Isles of Scilly. The new facility is long awaited and much needed. Once complete, we are confident it will bring significant benefits to residents and visitors.

Email our Communications Team if you have any further questions.

The first ground for the new facility was broken by none other than the Duke of Cornwall. His Royal Highness was given a tour of St Mary's Community Hospital on Friday 10 May, before being handed a spade to do the honours.

After breaking ground to a round of applause, Prince William described the development as "exciting". He added: "I look forward to coming to see it next year".

The Duke met with staff from the hospital and St Mary's Health Centre, Council of the Isles of Scilly and partners to hear more about the challenges with delivering health and care services on the islands.

Matron Lynda McHale was among those to greet His Royal Highness:

"The whole experience has been really positive and has made the new build and integration really real for the team on St Mary's and everyone on the islands".

Between summer 2024 and spring 2025, the Trust and Council of the Isles of Scilly will engage with residents and staff. This will include workshops and events to gather views on how the centre and model of care will be developed.

These exercises have already started. They have included off-island roadshows in March 2024, with further roadshows planned in summer 2024. The build and design team also visited the islands in June 2024, to share information and gather feedback. There will be more opportunities for residents to engage with our teams. Further details will be shared as the project moves forward. Watch this space!

• The short-form business case was approved on 26 March 2024.
• Planning permission was granted on 18 April 2024.
• Offsite construction and onsite enabling works began in May 2024.
• Units for the modular build are expected to arrive on St Mary’s in August 2024.
• Between summer 2024 and spring 2025, the Trust and Council of the Isles of Scilly will engage with residents and staff.
• Work to refurbish the existing St Mary’s Community Hospital building is expected to start in early 2025.
• The hospital modular build is due to be completed at the end of March 2025.
• The whole facility is due to be completed by summer 2025.

The dates listed above may be subject to change. Further updates will be shared as the project moves forward.

Joint response from the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Council of the Isles of Scilly project group:

“We know many residents were concerned about the location of the palliative care room within the new integrated health and care social care facility. Taking all your feedback on board, we are pleased to confirm that the location has been changed.

“Once all building work is complete, the view from the new palliative care room will be a combination of both the sea and surrounding landscape. Families and loved ones will be able to step out into a sheltered and landscaped courtyard. The decking by the door will also be raised. This will allow the person to enjoy the benefits of being outdoors if they wish to do so, which is not possible from the current room.

“The day room will overlook a different courtyard, from which families, loved ones and patients will also be able to access a sea view.

“We would like to thank all those who shared their views on our initial design plans. We look forward to continuing to work with all residents and stakeholders on this joint project, which aims to deliver the best possible health and social care for the islands.”