A state-of-the-art national rehabilitation centre is expected to start accepting health service patients in September this year, following a number of delays caused by water supply problems.
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust announced today that it had received the keys to the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), which cost £105m and is the country’s first such facility.
“We are incredibly proud of what has been achieved so far and look forward to opening our doors and realising the vision of the NRC”
Miriam Duffy
As a result, the trust said it could commence preparations to move the first patients into the NRC in the first week of September, nearly a year after it was originally due to open.
Once operational, the NRC will be a 70-bed specialist rehabilitation centre for patients who have experienced a life-changing illness or injury.
Although accepting patients from across the country, the new centre will be run and staffed by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, one of England’s largest health service organisations.
The centre was due to open its doors in November 2025, but this date was postponed after a failed water quality check. There were hopes it would open in August but this has now been pushed back.
The trust said that the building contractors, Integrated Health Partnerships (IHP), had worked over recent months to resolve a “stubborn” issue with the water quality in the building.
As a result, 183 mixer taps throughout the building have been replaced and work has been carried out to stabilise the temperature in the hot water system.
In addition, a chlorine dioxide unit has been installed to prevent any future issues should water temperatures fluctuate.
The trust added that a five-week remobilisation period had “now commenced to prepare to receive our first patients at the NRC in the first week of September”.
The new facility is co-located with the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) on the Stanford Hall Rehabilitation Estate (SHRE) near Loughborough.
It forms part of the government’s New Hospital Programme and will become trust’s fourth hospital site, joining Queen’s Medical Centre, City Hospital and Ropewalk House.
NRC director Miriam Duffy said: “We are delighted to finally receive the keys to the National Rehabilitation Centre after months of work with IHP to resolve the stubborn water quality issues in order for us to safely receive our first patients.
“Whilst there is still important work to do before we welcome our first patients, receiving the keys allows us to begin the final preparations to bring the building to life,” she said.
“Over the coming weeks, our teams will be working closely together to ensure every aspect of the centre is ready to provide outstanding patient rehabilitation from day one.
“We are incredibly proud of what has been achieved so far and look forward to opening our doors and realising the vision of the NRC as a leading centre of excellence for rehabilitation, innovation, education and research.”
Miriam Duffy with trust staff and contractors outside the new NRC
