Darent Valley Hospital plans five more intensive care beds, taking its ICU from 10 to 15, plus a roof deck so patients, even bed-bound ones, can get outside.

Darent Valley Hospital is planning to expand its intensive care unit from 10 beds to 15. The plans also include a roof deck so that ICU patients, including those who cannot leave their beds, can get outside.

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust has applied to Dartford Borough Council for the outside works the expansion needs (planning application 26/01203/FUL).

Why the unit is growing

The application’s cover letter says the hospital “is currently experiencing capacity constraints within the ICU department, placing pressure on the service”. The trust wants to provide five more intensive therapy (ITU) and high dependency (HDU) bed spaces, and to bring the unit up to NHS building standards (cover letter).

The design statement by ADP Architects says the unit will spread across two neighbouring departments on the hospital’s level 03: the existing ICU and the surgical administration area. Beds would sit on one side and most support rooms on the other. It says the change is driven by “a current lack of available capacity” (planning design statement).

Most of the work is inside the building and does not need planning permission. The application covers what changes outside.

What needs planning permission

  • two link corridors at first-floor level, joining the two halves of the new unit. Each is 2.4m wide and 4m high, wide enough for a hospital bed. Together they add about 55 sq m of floor space
  • a south-facing roof deck for ICU patients, who the trust says “currently lack access to vital outdoor amenity space”
  • new ventilation plant on the roof: four air handling units and four exhaust fans, which keep the bed bays at the right air pressure
  • an acoustic screen around the deck to cut noise from that plant

The nearest home is about 150 metres away, the cover letter says. The hospital is in the green belt, which is why the application spends time on how small the outside changes are.

What it means for you

If you or a relative are treated at Darent Valley. Nothing changes yet. The application does not give a start date, a cost or an opening date for the larger unit. It needs planning permission for the outside works first.

If you want to comment. The council’s consultation period ends on Wednesday 11 November, and its target for a decision is Friday 11 December. Quote 26/01203/FUL (dates tab). Our planning applications guide explains how.

Sources