Plans for a much-needed extension Durham's A&E department are back at square one after a health boss admitted there was no funding in place to deliver them.
A two-storey extension to University Hospital North Durham's emergency department received planning approval in January 2023 and was intended to help the hospital cope with increasing demand.
But despite a business case to develop it, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust CEO Steve Russell, has admitted there was no funding officially in place to deliver the plans, and costs for the project have since spiralled towards £80m. Planning permission has also expired.
University Hospital of North Durham in Durham City
(Image: Chris Booth/NORTHERN ECHO)
Mr Russell said: “The accident and emergency department is not fit for purpose.
“Staff do an incredible job, but we are uncomfortable with the environment in which they work, and patients receive care.
“When the case for the new Durham centre was developed, the trust was arguably in a stronger financial position and expected to borrow the money.
“There was a business case, but no funding.”
Chief executive of the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, Steve Russell
(Image: Chris Booth/NORTHERN ECHO)
Mr Russell said changes to the way NHS capital funding is allocated had made it much more difficult for trusts to borrow the money needed for major building projects.
He added: “The necessary level of capital was not made available, and the planning permission expired.
“Something must be done at the Durham hospital site, but because the original business case had no funding, we must start again.
“We would probably need to do that anyway because the updated cost was estimated at between £60 million and £80 million, which is unlikely to be affordable.”
The redevelopment had been designed to address rising pressure on the emergency department, which was built to handle around 30,000 attendances a year.
Chief executive of the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, Steve Russell
(Image: Chris Booth/NORTHERN ECHO)
Health bosses previously estimated that annual attendances could increase to approximately 79,000.
Under the approved plans, the extension would have been built next to the existing emergency department.
The scheme included the demolition of several buildings, including Dryburn House, a Grade II-listed former hospital building opposite A&E. A memorial garden used by parents to remember their babies would also have been relocated.
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Some early work was completed, including the demolition of the hospital’s East Wing corridor, but construction of the new department did not begin.
The trust had previously said the redevelopment remained a 'strategic priority' but was dependent on sufficient national NHS capital funding and regulatory approval.
A similar proposal was approved in 2017 but lapsed before the replacement application was given permission in 2023.