THE cost of a major multi-million pound hospital redevelopment has spiralled by more than £65 million in six years.

Bosses at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton are still waiting for full and final approval from the Treasury and the Department of Health for the ambitious project.

The original cost of the scheme was £420m but an increase in prices in the building industry means the figure is now closer to £486m.

Building work is expected to start in earnest later this year, once final approval for the government funding of the scheme is granted.

However it is feared the scheme could be delayed by more than a year if an announcement is not made until after the general election.

The longer it takes to make a decision, the higher the costs could rise.

A Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust spokesman said: “The original budget of £420m was first set in late 2009 and we had been able to maintain that level for a considerable period of time.

“The improvement in the general economic climate, which is reflected in the construction industry, has meant that our reassessment of the capital cost is £486m. This reassessment is set out in the full business case submitted in October 2014.

“There has been no sudden change to the cost and no changes to the scope of the project since it received full planning consent in 2012.”

The final budget for the project will be agreed when the full business case is approved by the Treasury.

Preparation has already begun for the redevelopment, which includes temporarily relocating some services, patients and staff.

The redevelopment will be carried out in three phases and will create hundreds of jobs during and after construction.

It will involve the demolition of the ageing 19th century Barry and Jubilee buildings, to be replaced by a 12-storey building.

There would also be an expanded cancer and neurosciences centre and an underground car park.

The existing Thomas Kemp Tower will have a helicopter pad added so critically ill patients can receive treatment quicker. The aim is to complete the redevelopment by winter 2023.