New £26m hospital plans approved

The hospital cared for Sagle Bernstein's sister

Plans to build a new £26m hospital in Norfolk have been approved in principle, it has been revealed.

The new hospital in Cromer will replace the original in Mill Road opened in 1932, with services such as out-patients and minor injuries care.

The board of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Trust has allocated £12m to invest in the hospital.

A further £14m will come from legacies, such as the £11.4m left by local resident Sagle Bernstein.

Mrs Bernstein left the money to the hospital in 2001 as thanks for the care her sister received at Cromer Hospital.

'Welcome position'

The value of the legacy, which is held on deposit, currently stands at £13.3m.

There will be two general anaesthetic operating theatres, out-patients and an ophthalmic theatre at the new hospital.

New diagnostic services will include on-site breast-screening, a scanner to diagnose osteoporosis and facilities for a mobile MRI scanner.

Chairman of the trust, David Prior, said: "As an NHS Foundation Trust we are in the very welcome position of being able to use our new-found financial freedoms to invest money into a long-awaited new hospital for the people of north Norfolk."

It is hoped the hospital will be completed by 2011.