The scheme caught the eye of virtually all the country’s big hitters when it was first unveiled at the start of the year. Now the long list  has been whittled down to Balfour Beatty, Kier-led Prospect Healthcare and Sir Robert McAlpine.

The shortlisted bidders will now be invited to engage with the Trust in the first stage of competitive dialogue to develop their proposed solutions for the delivery of new healthcare facilities at Stanmore.

The Trust is aiming to have chosen a preferred bidder within the next 18 months and it is expected that work will begin on the new facility in 2013.

The hospital trust wants to build a new 124 in-patient ward along with imaging department, landscaping as well as café and retail facilities.

Steve Turner, PFI Project Director, said: “We were very impressed with the quality of the bids from a range of potential partners and are pleased to announce that Sir Robert McAlpine, Balfour Beatty and Prospect Healthcare have been selected to work with us on the next stage of the redevelopment process.

“This is a really exciting time for the RNOH as we look forward to realising our vision to provide state-of-the-art facilities for our patients.”