Doncaster Royal Infirmary 2025-01-30

Opened the debate

I am grateful for the opportunity to make the case in this Chamber for the repair and refurbishment of Doncaster Royal Infirmary. This is not the first time I have raised this issue in this place, such is its importance to my constituents. Doncaster Royal Infirmary is at the heart of our community in Doncaster. For many of us, including myself, it is where we were born and rely on during some of the most difficult and painful moments of our lives. It is with great sadness that I come to this Chamber to say that after consistent underfunding, our hospital is in dire need of repair. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the NHS staff who have dedicated their careers to caring for the patients at the hospital. Doncaster Royal Infirmary faces one of the highest repair backlogs in the country. The East Ward tower block faces critical infrastructure risks and safety concerns, and therefore is at the very top of the Doncaster and Bassetlaw teaching hospitals’ list of priorities. Other areas with a backlog of repairs include operating theatres, the critical care department and the women and children’s hospital. Across the hospital, there remains infrastructure that dates back to the 1930s. A recent report concluded that there would be an “increased risk to life” were a fire to occur in Doncaster and Bassetlaw teaching hospitals due to the age and infrastructure of the buildings. Despite promises made by a string of Health Ministers, our application for crucial funding from the new hospital programme was denied by the Conservatives. We now know that the funding promised for the programme never existed—it was a work of fiction. The trust announced in December that as part of a wider £19.8 million investment project, some refurbishment works will be completed at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. That is welcome, but it is not the overall solution. This week, I visited Doncaster Royal Infirmary with my hon. Friend and the Minister to show her the extent of the repair backlog, and to demonstrate the urgency with which we need action.

Government Response

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing a debate on this really important issue for her constituents. She is absolutely right that the promises made by the previous Government were hollow and built on sand. Even for the hospitals that made it into the new hospital programme, the money simply was not there. They let down the people of Doncaster. On Monday, I had the privilege of visiting Doncaster Royal Infirmary, along with my hon. Friend and our hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, and witnessed the outstanding care that staff are providing despite significant infrastructure challenges. The hospital now has a backlog-of-maintenance bill of approximately £114 million, and the constant need for critical repairs leaves scarce resources for developing and enhancing facilities. That is the reality facing Doncaster Royal Infirmary and hospitals nationwide after years of under-investment by the previous Government. Reversing the trend and repairing and rebuilding our hospital estate is a vital part of our ambition to create an NHS fit for the future. The Chancellor announced that health capital spending is set to increase to £13.6 billion in 2025-26, representing record levels of capital investment in healthcare. I am pleased that works to address some of the most pressing issues at Doncaster Royal Infirmary are under way, with £19.8 million confirmed for the refurbishment and relocation of the critical care unit. NHS England has allocated South Yorkshire integrated care board £107 million in operational capital to spend on its capital priorities next year. Additionally, South Yorkshire ICB has been allocated £19 million from the estates safety fund for 2025-26. I strongly encourage the trust to discuss options with the ICB for allocating some of its operational capital and estates safety funding to repairs at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. Let me also draw attention to the £1.35 billion of capital funding allocated for constitutional standards recovery in 2025-2026, which may be used by Doncaster Royal Infirmary. The Government recognise that, like Doncaster Royal Infirmary, many hospitals across the country need funding to overhaul their digital infrastructure. That is why we are investing more than £2 billion in NHS technology and digital in 2025-26 to run essential services, increase productivity, improve cyber-security, enhance patient access, and ensure that all trusts have electronic patient records. I thank Doncaster and Bassetlaw trust for its co-operation on the implementation of a system-wide electronic patient record, and I want to reassure the trust that this investment in digital and technology will be available for projects beyond electronic patient records. The Government understand that long-term certainty about capital funding will be essential to addressing the critical infrastructure issues at hospitals such as Doncaster Royal Infirmary, and across the NHS estate. Capital budgets beyond 2025-26 will be determined through the current spending review, which concludes in June 2025. In conclusion, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central for raising this important issue, and for her continued support, and that of her colleagues, for Doncaster Royal Infirmary. I extend my thanks to the staff of Doncaster Royal Infirmary for hosting my insightful visit, and for their candour in explaining to me how they have got into this situation in recent years. I hope to return when the new critical care unit is open. The Government are committed to repairing and rebuilding our hospital estate. It will take time—we have inherited a shocking situation—and I look forward to working with colleagues on this vital issue across the country in the coming years.