Doncaster Royal Infirmary: Mayor steps up pressure on Government after roof collapse

Emergency repairs are under way at the Armthorpe Road site after a massive chunk of plaster cracked and smashed into a corridor yesterday.

And the Mayor is turning up the heat on the Government who earlier this year rejected plans for a brand new £1.37billion hospital for Doncaster.

Sharing a photo of the damaged ceiling, she said: “Yet another example of how unsustainable the current situation is at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

“Once again, I would like to thank the DRI staff for all the fantastic work they do under such pressure.

“Whilst we continue to press UK government for a new hospital, our existing hospital needs urgent repairs now.”

The mayor and Sally Jameson, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for the Doncaster Central constituency, have created a petition demanding a new hospital, which you can sign HERE

Meanwhile, Doncaster Conservative MP Nick Fletcher has also said he will put pressure on his Tory colleagues to replace the crumbling hospital, parts of which date from the 1930s.

He said: “I am clear in my vision and determination that we shall get a new hospital.”

Sharing the picture of the roof collapse, he added: “Posts like this from Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust make me even more determined if that was possible.

“Parliament resumes next Monday. I will be banging the drum once more. Until we get our new hospital I shall campaign remorselessly day in day out. Like getting the airport reopened, it requires dogged determination which fortunately I have in abundance.

“The fight goes on until we succeed.

The ceiling collapse is the latest in a long-line of problems at the ageing hospital with plans for a brand new hospital at the waterfront site next to Doncaster College.

A spokesman for Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Unfortunately, a large section of plaster has fallen from the celling in the corridor which connects our Education Centre and Endoscopy at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

"This is the result of leaks within the flat roof above, which have compounded over time.

“Fortunately, nobody was harmed when the plaster came down, however this is the daily reality of working with a site which has a maintenance backlog which runs into the hundreds of millions, and is need of replacement.

“Colleagues are now working hard to repair the ceiling, however we ask visitors who may be coming to endoscopy to be mindful that some of our access corridors may be shut until works are complete. If you get lost, please ask a colleague for help.”

There are also around 600 outstanding maintenance jobs across the estate, with an estimated value of £118m.

In 2017, part of a lift crashed through a roof at DRI while in 2021, the hospital was hit by two huge water leaks.