Bid for £1.37bn new hospital is rejected
City of Doncaster Council has today confirmed that a bid for a new hospital for the city has been turned down by the Government.
Since the summer of 2019, Doncaster Council and Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (DBTH) have been working on proposals to redevelop the waterfront area next to Doncaster College.
The council and trust say this location offers significant opportunity for redevelopment and regeneration, as one of the largest brownfield sites in the country.
Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, said: “I am immensely disappointed that our Doncaster bid for a new hospital has been turned down by Government.
“Our bid was incredibly strong, highlighting the far-reaching benefits for health and medical provision that a state-of-the-art new hospital would bring as well as social and economic benefits for the people of our city and the region.
Ros Jones
“We are in urgent need of a new hospital for Doncaster that would support us to Level Up and I will continue to lobby this Government to deliver a new hospital for Doncaster.”
Richard Parker, chief executive of DBTH, said: “I am very disappointed that the trust’s business case for the development of a new hospital in Doncaster has not been included in the Government’s New Hospital Programme.”
“Our focus now, and that of our health and social care partners and local leaders, will now need to shift towards ensuring that Doncaster Royal Infirmary is fit for the future, as well as seeking clarity to understand what additional funding avenues and opportunities are available to us.”
The existing hospital within the city, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, (DRI) was initially built in the 1930s, with further development and expansion in the 1960s and 1980s and was expected to deal with around 200 patients at any one time.
Since that time Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has outgrown the site and its related infrastructure, and routinely cares for around 400 patients every day.
Due to the hospital’s age, there are around 600 outstanding maintenance jobs across DRI’s buildings, with an estimated value of £118m. The council warns the cost of this is “neither affordable nor best value for money.”
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals is one of only a small number of teaching hospitals within the region and hosts a range of services across three main hospital sites, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Bassetlaw Hospital and Montagu Hospital, serving around 440,000 people across South Yorkshire and North Nottinghamshire.
The council adds the estimated cost of a new hospital in the city would be around £1.37bn.
It stresses the site has been identified and is “shovel-ready”, with an approved construction expected to take around five years to complete.
