A hospital in Yorkshire needs investment of close to half a billion pounds to make it fit for the future, MPs have heard.
Doncaster Royal Infirmary has a litany of “critical infrastructure risks and safety concerns” and its bill for improvement has now reached £478m, one of the city’s MPs warned.
“After consistent underfunding, our hospital is in dire need of repair,” Labour MP for Doncaster Central Sally Jameson said in a House of Commons debate last Thursday (30 January).
The hospital faces a backlog maintenance bill of around £114m, but Doncaster was not included in the phased delivery of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) announced last month by health secretary Wes Streeting.
The East Ward tower block in Doncaster Royal Infirmary, “which houses some of the most vulnerable patients, faces critical infrastructure risks and safety concerns”, Jameson said.
She added that operating theatres, the critical care department and the women and children’s hospital face repair backlogs as well.
The hospital had to evacuate more than 60 patients from the women and children’s hospital in 2021 after a leak triggered a fire, according to the MP. The operating theatres also need expanding as they “do not meet modern standards for space”, she said, citing the local NHS trust’s refurbishment plans.
Jameson called for government action to ensure that the hospital was fit to operate for another 20 years.
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust estimated in 2023 that it would need to spend £478m to rebuild and refurbish the site, including up to £356m to refurbish the East Ward tower block and add a new building in front.
Revamping the operating theatres will cost around £35m, while refurbishing the women and children’s hospital is set to cost up to £87m.
In addition, the trust identified a “significant number” of asbestos-affected areas within its estate.
“This issue also affects our ability to respond at pace to some critical infrastructure failures and increases the cost of remediation,” it added.
Last year, it released a ten-year plan to deliver improvements to the site if it received the necessary funding. That project, the trust said, would address “critical infrastructure risks and target areas with the greatest impact”.
In response to Jameson’s comments, minister for secondary care Karin Smyth said the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) had put aside £19.8m to refurbish and relocate the hospital’s critical care unit.
“That will deliver a safer and more accessible environment for the most vulnerable patients,” she said, adding: “While I accept that this by no means addresses all the issues raised today, it is nevertheless a project that will deliver much-needed safety improvements.”
She also added that the “constant need for critical repairs leaves scarce resources for developing and enhancing facilities” across the NHS.
The Doncaster Royal Infirmary has more than 800 beds, and includes an A&E department alongside a women and children’s hospital.
Streeting announced on 20 January that the NHP would be delivered in three phases, with at least five huge hospital projects set to start construction after 2037.
He said the government is set to spend £13.6bn in 2025 on the NHS, adding that the new iteration of the NHP was on a “sustainable footing with a timeline that can be met”. His NHP programme includes finishing a number of construction projects that were not completed under previous governments.
Richard Parker, chief executive at the NHS trust, said the trust invests £25m annually to keep the site “safe and operational” while also managing the maintenance backlog.
“While we continue to invest and have a strong track record of delivering improvements, a comprehensive refurbishment is needed to create a modern, safe, and sustainable hospital that meets the needs of our patients now and in the future,” he added.
Construction News approached the DHSC for comment.
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Joshua Stein