New Shotley Bridge Hospital 'many millions' over budget

The new community hospital was initially planned to open in 2025, but that date has been put back

Work to build a hospital in County Durham is "many millions" over budget, health officials have been told.

The outdated Shotley Bridge Hospital is due to be replaced by a new facility in Consett.

It was part of Boris Johnson's pledge to build 40 new hospitals across the UK by 2030, with planning permission granted in March.

However, its planned opening in 2025 has been delayed and fears have been voiced the project will be scrapped.

Speaking at a meeting of Durham County Council's Adult Health Committee, Richard Morris, associate director of operations at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, said the design process was in the "advanced stages".

But he added: "We're many, many millions above what was expected. 

"We have had very detailed discussions with the new hospital's senior team and found the scheme was still viable and it's expected it goes ahead, but we need to make changes."

'Failure on a Titanic scale'

The new hospital is set to be smaller than the current site, which is in poor condition.

Current plans include a 16-bed in-patient rehabilitation ward, an urgent treatment centre, an expanded chemotherapy suite and diagnostic provision, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Dominic Haney, Liberal Democrat councillor for Consett, Moorside and The Grove, warned the hospital "risks being a failure on a Titanic scale" if it is not funded properly.

He said: "Health chiefs have been tasked with reconfiguring the new hospital's layout to bring costs down, but no amount of rearranging the deckchairs is going to stop the project from being sunk.

"As construction costs continue to soar [and] the longer the delays, the greater the chance the new hospital never sees the light of day." 

In response to such concerns, Mr Morris said: "I don't think the clinical outcomes are going to be as compromised as we think.

"I cannot give you a definitive timeline as to when the hospital will be open. But we are committed to delivering it."