Doncaster Royal Infirmary

Sally Jameson Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sally Jameson (Doncaster Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

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. When I worked as a prison officer, I spent many hours on escorts at DRI and saw for myself the commitment of its staff. We live in a time where pressures on the NHS are immense, and staff across the country face unbearable conditions as they try to support patients in a system that desperately needs reform. I am pleased that this Government are committed to enacting change within our NHS for the benefit of both patients and the staff who treat them.

In Doncaster, our dedicated NHS staff face added pressure. Doncaster Royal Infirmary faces one of the highest repair backlogs in the country. The East Ward tower block, which houses some of the most vulnerable patients, 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.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

As my hon. Friend will know, in April 2021 a leak occurred at the women’s hospital at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. The water then flooded the area and went into the electrical systems, and a fire broke out. Some 60 patients were impacted and had to be evacuated, including premature babies. Thanks to the efforts of the amazing hospital staff, as my hon. Friend has mentioned, no one was hurt, but the damage was substantial, and it impacted larger parts of the hospital. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to learn from such incidents, and that it makes absolute sense, both financially and for people’s safety, to proactively manage repairs and do the maintenance that is required?

[Sally Jameson]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that incident showcased how desperate the situation is. It is a testament to the staff and the team at the trust that no one was hurt, and that the repair work that needed to be done happened immediately. Other areas where a backlog remains include the operating theatres. According to the Doncaster Royal Infirmary refurbishment plan, the operating theatres at the hospital do not meet modern standards for space.

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[Sally Jameson]

Across the hospital, there remains infrastructure that dates back to the 1930s. Imagine all the advancements we have made in science, innovation, technology and medicine since then, yet Doncaster patients are treated in a building that has not been updated in line with any of that. Most worryingly, a recent report concluded that there would be an “increased risk to life” were a fire to occur in Doncaster and Bassetlaw teaching hospitals. That is due to the age and infrastructure of the buildings, and the electrical works, which do not meet the needs of a modern-day hospital.

In spite of the catalogue of urgently needed repairs, Doncaster was not successful in its bid to secure a new hospital under the previous Government. Despite promises made by a string of Health Ministers, our application for crucial funding from the new hospital programme was denied by the Conservatives. That was a bitter blow to the community. We now know that the funding promised for the programme never existed—it was a work of fiction. That does not just affect the hospitals included in the programme; the implications ripple across all hospitals that desperately need investment.

In Doncaster, we are doing all we can to improve health provision for residents. That includes the work that Mayor Ros Jones and the trust are doing to set up health on the high street, providing appropriate health provision in the city centre. That will not only improve and quicken the service, but increase footfall on the high street. 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.

As a result of not being included in the new hospital programme, the Doncaster and Bassetlaw hospital trust has come up with a thorough and extensive on-site rebuild and refurbishment plan. The estimated cost in 2023 for the full refurbishment and a new building in front of the east ward tower block was up to £356 million, the cost for work on the theatres £35 million, and a refurbishment of the women’s and children’s hospital, mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher), would cost up to £87 million. That would also help to generate some extra capacity, which is much needed in the current climate.

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. I am grateful to the Secretary of State for Health for meeting me and my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Ed Miliband) this week to talk through the DRI refurbishment plan, and the support we need to get the rebuild work done. That work is also supported by my right hon. Friend the Member for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough (John Healey). The plan lays out the detail of proposed refurbishment works, not just to clear the repair backlog, but to ensure that core services are protected and a safe site can be ensured for a minimum of 20 years.

I now ask the Government for action. I ask them for capital investment to clear the repair backlog, and to support the refurbishment and building programme, so that the people of Doncaster can access good-quality secondary care in a safe hospital. I ask the Government to support the staff at Doncaster Royal Infirmary in doing their jobs safely and effectively. I ask the Government to make sure that our hospital is fit for the future.