The private firm which is to build and own the new £27 million Newton Abbot Hospital has been named. Ryhurst, part of Sussex construction firm the Rydon Group, has beaten off competition from six other interested parties after its bid was measured against a number of criteria set by the Department of Health. On Wednesday, the new 'preferred bidder' contract was signed at the proposed hospital's location at Jetty Marsh, where building work is expected to begin next January. As final details have yet to be agreed, the price paid to Ryhurst cannot be revealed for reasons of 'commercial confidentiality'. Pam Smith, chief executive of Teignbridge NHS Primary Care Trust, said of the appointment: 'The PCT is delighted to be working with Ryhurst as our partner. They are a company who work solely with the NHS and have experience of similar developments. 'Everyone involved in the assessment process was impressed with the way in which the company had worked with the PCT to design a hospital that is truly patient centred.' On its website Ryhurst describes construction of hospitals and other health projects as 'the 'unglamorous', nuts-and-bolts end of the PFI spectrum'. The company was the subject of a management buy-out in January and has said it is looking forward to 'a new era of energy and growth'.
