Stockholm to Build Scandinavia’s Largest Hospital

A new Swedish state-of-the-art hospital will focus on highly specialized and research-intensive care for patients with the most complex diseases.

The New Karolinska Solna (NKS; Sweden) is being constructed next to Karolinska University Hospital (Solna, Sweden), and will open its doors at the end of 2016. The hospital will include five new buildings and will have a total of 800 hospital beds, including 125 intensive care and intermediate care beds, 75 post-operative beds, 100 outpatient places, and 100 beds in a patient hotel. An estimated patient flow of 1,600–1,800 patient visits per day is projected, of which 10%–20% will be acute patients. The hospital will employ 6,000 members of staff, along with around 1,000 researchers and students.


NKS will be part of an integrated, interacting care system designed to meet the demands of future health and medical care, with a greater focus on the patient’s needs, faster provision of care, and increased patient safety. Among the unique features and characteristics of the NSK will be a focus on the patient’s safety and integrity via secure single rooms (with shower and toilet), with room for relatives to spend the night; minimal patient triage through efficient work methods; cohesive interaction and smooth workflow between different units; and a clear linkage between care, research and training in order to develop the care services.

Responsibility for the NKS project is shared by the Stockholm County Council (SLL; Sweden) executive board, which is in charge of procurement of the technical equipment and the other fittings and furnishings for the NSK, and Karolinska University Hospital, which is responsible for framing the requirements concerning the medical technology equipment and the information and communication technology that NKS is to have. The project has also involved the largest purchase of art in the history of the SLL, with a total investment of USD 18 million.

The NSK project is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) process between the SLL and Swedish Hospital Partners (Skanska; Stockholm, Sweden), a private consortium that will be responsible for design and planning, construction, financing, and facility management of the hospital building. SLL county authorities will undertake to rent the hospital buildings for at least 30 years. Investment costs have been calculated at USD 2.14 billion, including construction, contractor’s costs, credit costs, demolition, etc. The sum does not include the equipment required for the medical operations.

Related Links:
New Karolinska Solna
Stockholm County Council 
Swedish Hospital Partners