Costs ever-rising to keep North Tees hospital open

Finance boss Neil Atkinson revealed North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust was projected to pay a staggering £12m this year alone to keep its Hardwick site “ticking over”.

Last year, officials said North Tees had a maximum of 10 years left – with leaking roofs, freezing pipes, and awkward layouts all hampering health staff.

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Struggles at the Stockton site were even referenced in an exchange between Sir Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson at Prime Minister’s Questions this summer. Mr Atkinson revealed another £3m would need to be spent on maintenance over the next six to 12 months – with trust board papers showing cracks in panels, concrete, and water seeping into structures had all become problems.

Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham said he’d told the government Stockton needed a new hospital since his election in 2010 – accusing them of “failing from day one” since taking power. The Labour MP added: “It’s been over a decade since the planned new hospital for Stockton and Hartlepool was cancelled by the then Tory-/Lib Dem coalition.

“Since then, we’ve seen report after report about how the North Tees building is no longer fit for purpose and requires a complete overhaul to meet modern day standards. The staff at North Tees and the Trust do a tremendous job in difficult circumstances.

“They shouldn’t be forced to keep things “ticking over” because the Conservative Government won’t give them the investment they need. They, and the local people they serve need state of the art services and facilities to improve the health of our communities.

“We need a new hospital.” Stockton South MP Matt Vickers led a debate about the problems at North Tees in the House of Commons late last year in a push to get the government to act.

He said: “Structural and engineering elements of the major buildings are now well, well beyond their life expectancy and the NHS workers in my patch, who have worked with determination and perseverance to make the best of the facilities, have said that this has put the trust’s ability to provide good care at risk. It’s time to replace this hospital which is far past its sell-by-date.

“Piecemeal improvement or ongoing gradual investments will struggle to ever meet the change that’s needed.” Mr Atkinson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the trust was “optimistic but realistic” about its bid to become one of eight new hospital sites in the country – with sites facing problems with aerated concrete likely to beat North Tees.

The Government’s Health Infrastructure Fund has seen more than 100 bids from trusts. Mr Atkinson said they had spoken to others about finding cash, and were in talks about“innovative funding arrangements” to get the £400m new hospital project going.

Asked about money to top up the hospital’s maintenance, A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said it had received £10.5m in recent years for upgrades.

The trust received £3.5m from a “critical infrastructure risk” fund in 2020/21 to put towards maintenance backlogs, and £3m for work at A&E that same year. Health officials also pointed to a CT scanner ordered for the trust.

The DHSC spokesperson added: “Patient safety remains a top priority and we are continuing to invest in upgrading the NHS’s physical infrastructure so we can provide the best possible quality of care, including funding for the trust. The trust has received around £10.5m in recent years to help upgrade facilities, address maintenance backlogs, and increase capacity.

“We are currently reviewing expressions of interest for the eight new hospitals, as part of the national programme to build 40 new hospitals by 2030, including one from the trust. We aim to announce the final decision later in the year.”

DHSC officials said trusts should discuss funding plans with the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) and NHS England if they weren’t chosen in the eight new sites. They also pointed to the trust receiving £4m for “upgrades and estate refurbishments” alongside digital initiatives in September last year.

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