Roofing completed on Ipswich Hospital's new Breast Care Centre

The roofing for the new £5.3 million Breast Care Centre at Ipswich Hospital has been completed, slated for a winter opening window.

Teams have laid the final tile which marks a major construction milestone, with only inside work remaining.

The new building is being designed to offer all aspect of breast care under one roof, including the clinic, the imaging department and hospital breast screening.

It is located in the central outpatients’ area of the hospital.

This will be necessary as the hospital doesn't have a dedicated ward for breast care, despite breast cancer cases rising, its NHS trust revealed.

Nick Hulme, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) CEO, said: “This new centre will transform hospital visits for breast care patients. The care our clinical teams give to patients is outstanding and now we can provide an environment to match."

The idea of the new clinic is to make the experience of those undergoing breast examinations far simpler as less time-consuming.

Patients will no longer need to walk backwards and forwards between wards for different screenings.

They will also often need to get dressed and undressed again and spend a long time in waiting rooms.

Paul Fenton, Director of Estates and Facilities at ESNEFT, said: “Topping out is a day to celebrate as we move ever closer to opening this new centre. The building will be fit to house state-of-the-art healthcare and will make a huge difference to our patients.”

The new centre was built as part of a partnership between ESNEFT and Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity, known as the Blossom Appeal.

Last month, 220 people abseiled down the hospital's maternity block to raise funds for the appeal, with CEO Hulme being among them.

They raised £93,000, which went towards the construction of the new centre.