Kettering General Hospital 'needs £765m to realise rebuild plans'

The hospital trust said "the cost of delivering a brand new hospital fit for the future... is much higher" than £396m

An NHS hospital says it needs a total of at least £765m in government funding if its rebuild plans are to be realised.

Kettering General Hospital said £46m has been committed for an urgent care hub to replace its A&E department, as well as £350m for other improvements.

Hospital bosses say the funds fall "significantly short" of the £765m needed for a three-stage rebuild.

The Department for Health said it would "carefully evaluate" its funding.

To fully renew the hospital would cost £1.1bn but the cost of capital charges on this amount would make it unaffordable to the hospital trust.

The trust said it would vote on pressing for additional government funding at its board meeting on 30 November.

If it can find the funding it requires, the trust said it would be able to:

• Rebuild a majority of wards, build six new operating theatres and new facilities for endoscopy, mortuary and pathology services

• Build a new energy centre, making it more efficient and environmentally sustainable.

• Refurbish any existing hospital buildings that were retained

Simon Weldon, group chief executive of Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals, "welcomed" the £396m it had been awarded, but said the hospital estate required more funds to be "fit for the 21st Century".

"Much of the hospital estate is more than 100 years old and most buildings are no longer fit for purpose," he said.

"It is clear that we have nowhere near enough capital to totally rebuild the hospital, either on the existing Kettering site or anywhere else. So, we need to decide how much of a rebuild we can afford to aim for."

The hospital said its emergency ward was built to see 100 patients a day, but now regularly had 300 admissions.

In a statement, the Department for Health said: "Full funding for the new Kettering General Hospital will be finalised alongside their business case, which will be carefully evaluated to ensure it demonstrates best value for money for the taxpayer and meets the needs of staff and local people."

The government said it was committed to funding 40 hospitals, to be completed by 2030. Eight further schemes have been "invited to apply for funding".

It said it had already confirmed £3.7bn of investment to schemes for the next four years.

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