Watch as work officially starts on new £48million Sunderland Eye Hospital with ground-breaking ceremony

Work officially began today, November 27, on the new Eye Hospital which will help to keep the city at the forefront of both regional and national ophthalmology.

Sunderland has been widely recognised as pioneering specialist in eye care since a first hospital was established 200 years ago in the East End of the city before the existing Eye Infirmary was built on Queen Alexandra Road during the second world war.   

The official ground-breaking ceremony for the £48million development took place at the Livingstone Road site which will provide pioneering eye care for decades to come.

There to witness the iconic moment was director of patient care and ophthalmology consultant, Ajay Kotagiri.

Dr Kotagiri said: “It’s very exciting to be here today for the official ceremony and one of the best days of my NHS career to see this new hospital being built in Sunderland.

“It will change the types of services we are able to provide in the Eye Infirmary and enable us to continue as a national centre of excellence for eye care.

“The staff at the current hospital are excellent, but the physical infra-structure needs to match their excellence.

“The new hospital will be built to provide the care our patients need, which is changing all the time."

One big change is making more efficient use of the space with a big shift towards short-term daycare rather than overnight care.

Dr Kotagiri said: “A lot of the current site was built with wards when patients would have long stays in hospital, but today this is no longer the case.

“With this change in practice you really need a set-up to cater for modern treatments in eye care.

“Sunderland has always been one of the very few stand alone eye hospitals nationally and is the regional centre of excellence. We hope this new hospital will help us to build on this and be a leader in the care of ophthalmology and eye disease.”

The new hospital will pioneer research into eye care and disease and will continue to be the Regional Cataract Treatment Centre which carried out around 600,000 operations last year.

One of those taking part in the ground-breaking ceremony was patient Michael Boys, who has attended the Eye Infirmary since birth.

Michael, 38, suffers from glaucoma and congenital cataracts which has resulted in virtually no vision in his left eye and limited vision in his right.

He said: “I can’t praise the hospital enough. I travel down from Morpeth every few months and the staff are brilliant.

“The treatment I’ve received is superb but the city centre location is going to make a big difference. 

“I love the current hospital but it can be a little awkward to get to and sometimes I end up having to get a taxi. Being in the city centre is amazing.

“I’m overwhelmed to be here today and to make the first dig to get this work underway was a real honour.”

Sharing the ground-breaking duties was Chief Executive of South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, Ken Bremner MBE.

Mr Bremner said: “This has been a long time coming and really is a landmark day for the city.

“The hospital is going to continue pioneering ophthalmology research which will hopefully lead to having a positive impact on patients not just regionally but nationally and internationally as well."

With patients currently referred to Sunderland Eye Infirmary from across the north of the country, Mr Bremner also hopes the new hospital can play a pivotal role in bringing down waiting lists for treatment.

He added: “We know that ophthalmology services are under immense pressure, with more than 29,000 people now waiting for eye treatment across the North East and North Cumbria.

“By building this new facility in Sunderland, we hope this will go a long way to supporting the wider NHS as we work together to make sure patients get the speedy treatment they need.”

The new Eye Hospital will be part of the riverside development regeneration of the city which will also include 1,000 new homes and a high level footbridge over the Wear.

The new riverside living wall car park was opened in September and can be used by patients visiting the hospital.

Sunderland City Council CEO Patrick Melia said: “It’s fantastic to be here today. The new hospital is going to be a leader in research into ophthalmology and eye disease and being located in the city centre will be much better for the patients.

"It will also bring footfall into the city centre.”

Councillor Kevin Johnston, portfolio holder for Riverside Sunderland, who was also at the ceremony, added: “This is a fantastic day for the city of Sunderland and our local NHS. The new Eye Hospital marks the start of another key milestone in our Riverside Sunderland development and we are very proud to work in partnership with the NHS to deliver this.

“I have no doubt this will be an outstanding healthcare facility and continue to build on Sunderland’s legacy as a leading provider of eye care in the UK.”

The state-of-the-art building’s design is being led by Ryder Architecture and Turner and Townsend with Kier construction group being commissioned to build the hospital.

NHS staff, patients and partners from the voluntary sector, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), have been heavily involved in helping design the new hospital.

It’s hoped the hospital will be completed before Christmas 2025.