Progress has been made on resolving water quality issues to enable the country’s first NHS National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), run and staffed by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and delivered as part of the Government’s national New Hospital Programme, to accept the keys to the building and take its first patients.
Delays to opening the centre stem from an issue with the water quality in the building, which has to meet much higher and more rigorous safety standards for a hospital where patients may be immunocompromised, much higher than in a commercial or domestic setting.
The issue relates to the Total Viable Count (TVC) levels, which measure the number of live microorganisms in a water sample – essentially a health check for water. All water has some microorganisms in it, and there is no official industry standard for drinking water in domestic and commercial settings.
A spokesperson said:
‘The TVC count we need to get down to for the NRC – a hospital setting – is less than 100 per ml, the same as that required for bottled drinking water.
‘Building contractors Integrated Health Projects (IHP) have spent recent months working on the NRC’s water system, including reviewing and testing the whole system to determine the nature of the issue and how to address it.
‘This testing has determined that, whilst the pipes throughout the building are not causing an issue, 183 mixer taps throughout the building need to be replaced, the hot water system needs stabilising, and a chlorine dioxide unit needs to be installed to prevent any future issues. However, it is important to note that this is not a systemic problem and is common in new builds, but we have had to go further to ensure the higher water quality levels.’
IHP are confident that, once the recent work and tap replacement have been completed and the water testing repeated to confirm their success, NUH will be able to accept the keys to the building in July. A four-week mobilisation period will then take place to prepare to receive our first patients at the NRC in August.
In the meantime, patients continue to be treated at Linden Lodge, NUH’s specialist rehabilitation unit based at Nottingham City Hospital, and on Ward C24 at Queen’s Medical Centre, by the same highly skilled staff who will be transferring over to the NRC once the building is ready.
Paul Matthew, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Senior Responsible Officer for the NRC at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), said:
“Whilst it is disappointing that we have not yet been able to accept the keys to the National Rehabilitation Centre from our building contractors, Integrated Health Projects (IHP), it is encouraging to see the progress being made to enable us to move in.
“It is important that the building is completed to the standard required for Day 1 of our patients moving in so that we avoid any disruption to them during their rehabilitation journey.
“Our staff at NUH are ready to transfer over to the cutting-edge NRC building, where they will continue to deliver life-changing rehabilitation for patients in the East Midlands and beyond, as well as helping to transform rehabilitation provision across the country. Therefore, as soon as the building is ready, so are we.”
