TENDERS will be invited in January for a new outpatients’ department at Andover War Memorial Hospital.

The overall design is now completed but work on detailed design development and measured surveys of the existing building are continuing.

Construction work is scheduled, on a phased basis, between April and October.

The plan is for the medical records department to move to another part of the site and, in the longer term, to reduce the amount of paper records held by moving to a digital format.

Meanwhile, a new pool has been installed at the Andover birthing centre and the area is being redecorated.