Stoke Hospital moves to new facility from Victorian site

The University Hospital of North Staffordshire is moving from an ageing Victorian site to a modern integrated facility on a single estate.

The £370m project will see the services from the Royal Infirmary, with buildings that date back to the 1860s, relocated to the new City General Hospital.

The maternity and cancer centres have already opened and demonstrate the improved infrastructure and working practices that the new building will offer, according to medical staff.

The old Royal Infirmary site will be fully vacated in 2012 when all the wards have been transferred.

Across the NHS nearly a fifth of facilities in use in England are deemed not up to scratch, according to data obtained by the BBC.

The 2009-10 figures supplied by the Department of Health show 17% of the NHS estate in use is deemed "not functionally suitable for use".

This covers national standards for issues such as space, layout and design, as well as the availability of toilets and storage, and the suitability of office space.