A NEW £1 million unit for Frimley Park Hospital cystic fibrosis patients is expected to be up and running in April.
The five-room centre had originally been scheduled to open in January this year but has been hampered by delays.
The Herald reported in July how the Knight Foundation, the charity raising the money for the centre, was presented with a VAT bill of £135,000, meaning the arrival of some specialist equipment would be delayed.
But Frimley Park's cystic fibrosis nurse Jackie Hext told The Herald this week that the centre will have the most important equipment such as piped oxygen and suction equipment when it opens in April, and will only be missing some more expensive items.
Ms Hext added that the Knight Foundation - named after the hospital's chest physician and cystic fibrosis specialist Dr Ron Knight - would not have to pay its VAT bill until the building work is complete.
In the meantime, on-going fundraising by the group and interest on its bank accounts will help pay for equipment. "Money's always coming in," she said.
Ms Hext said: "The building will be built off-site in sections and they will be laying the base around Christmas."
The Knight Foundation has been raising money for the new centre for four years.
The foundation feels that although current standards of care for CF patients are good, the care is not always appropriate and the lack of separation between in- and outpatients presents a risk of cross infection