Roseberry Park Hospital repairs 'will take years'

The hospital, which was built under PFI, has had problems since it opened

A hospital beset by structural problems will take "four to five years" to be fully repaired, a task force looking into the issue has warned.

Roseberry Park in Middlesbrough opened in 2011 but has had problems with its roof, plumbing and fire safety system.

The defects were such that Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust took the PFI provider to court and won its battle to terminate the £321m contract.

Contractor Three Valleys Healthcare Ltd has now gone into liquidation.

'Boggled the imagination'

A report by the Tees Valley joint health scrutiny committee said it was "very concerned" at the extent of repair work needed.

It revealed construction defects at the hospital were found soon after opening, with other problems later uncovered in 2015.

These included gaps around fire doors, poor quality flooring and issues with heating, hot water and drainage.

Councillor Ian Jeffrey, who led the task group, told a meeting of the committee that the hospital's condition "boggled the imagination", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He added: "There were some serious failings insofar of the contractors themselves.

"The inconvenience and disruption is clearly something the trust has noticed and had to deal with for some considerable time."

"Rectification work", which the health trust is now responsible for, "may take four to five years" at the site with no definite end date in sight.

It has started legal procedures to recover more costs, but this is expected to take "several months".