'Huge impact' as QMC and City Hospital rebuilds pushed back further to 2037 by government

The Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham
-Credit:Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post


Plans to rebuild Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) and City Hospital have been pushed back further to at least 2037, the government has announced. The rebuild plans for the two facilities, both run by the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH), were part of Boris Johnson's pledge to build 40 new hospitals over 10 years when he became Prime Minister in 2019.

However, in an announcement on Monday, January 20, Labour Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the pledge had been “built on the shaky foundation of false hope”. Setting out a new timetable in Parliament, he said the Nottingham rebuilds will be among the final phase, which will not begin until beyond 2035.

The Department of Health and Social Care estimates construction will start between 2037 and 2039 at a cost of more than £2 billion. NUH said it was "very disappointed" by the announcement, describing the project, labelled the 'Tomorrow's NUH' programme as, "desperately needed". Proposals included maternity services being moved under one roof at the QMC.

ADVERTISEMENT

READ MORE: Popular riverside pub in 'prominent' position by River Trent up for sale for £1m

READ MORE: Scale of cuts to Nottingham libraries laid bare as council announces proposed opening hours

"This will not only considerably impact our patients and staff for the coming years but will also have a huge impact on our wider communities across the region," said chief executive Anthony May. The delay will scupper long-awaited plans for a helipad and multi-storey car park at the QMC.

“This will mean a significant delay to building a new Centre for Women, Children and Families for Nottingham. Our cancer patients will have to wait an additional decade to receive treatment in a bespoke Cancer Care building," Mr May added. “With one of the largest reported maintenance backlogs in the country (amounting to £439m), the NHP investment is desperately needed, and sooner rather than later, as the current condition of our estate limits our ability to provide the environment that our patients and staff deserve.

An artist's impression of the QMC under Tomorrow's NUH plans.
An artist's impression of the QMC under Tomorrow's NUH plans. -Credit:LDR

"Our Tomorrow’s NUH programme will be a significant solution to these issues, as well as being a catalyst for wider change within the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire region." The new £105m National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), which is due to open in Stanford-on-Soar later this year, will remain on schedule, Mr Streeting said.

ADVERTISEMENT

That facility will also be run by NUH and will care for 750 patients a year, employing 160 people. Mr May added: “We need to fully understand the implications of today’s announcement and will be working with NHP over the coming days and weeks to confirm what this means in terms of the different phases of the Tomorrow’s NUH programme.”

The National Rehabilitation Centre as construction work continues
Plans for the new £105m National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) remain on schedule -Credit:Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC

The previous Conservative government cast doubt over the rebuild schemes in Nottingham in 2023, saying it was among and a handful which would be delayed beyond the original 2030 deadline. Last September, the new Labour Government announced a complete review of the new hospitals programme, shortly after NUH said it would start a public consultation on its plans within months.

Mr Streeting said the new national timetable was “honest, funded and can actually be delivered”. He added: “It is a serious, credible plan to build the hospitals our NHS needs.” Promising that all the new units would be delivered, Mr Streeting said he had secured investment averaging £3 billion a year, which he described as part of the largest capital investment in the NHS since the previous Labour government.

He also announced a new framework for contracting out construction of the new hospitals, saying this would ensure the new facilities were delivered “as quickly as possible”.