Royal Berkshire Hospital: Trust chief calls for rebuild on new site

A hospital should be rebuilt on a new site to better serve the area for the next 50 years, its boss has said.

The Royal Berkshire Hospital building in Reading requires £200m in maintenance work.

The original hospital building was constructed in 1839. Some wards on the hospital are more than 175 years old.

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has been looking at on-site and off-site developments, including Newbury Showground and White Waltham Airfield.

It is one of 48 trusts that will receive government funding to rebuild or construct new hospitals by 2030.

Reading Borough Council has said previously it was worried some residents might not be able to reach the potential new sites.

Steve McManus, chief executive of Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We've clearly got physical estate that consumes levels of maintenance that, in more modern buildings, because of the physical environment, we know that money would be better applied."

He said the ability to create a brand new hospital on a new site "would probably give us the best opportunity to use some of that investment".

"To really create a hospital that would stand the test of time over the next, not just 10 or 20 years but 50 years and beyond," he added.

It comes as the NHS celebrates its 75th anniversary in a year when NHS staff have been taking industrial action in disputes over pay.

The landmark anniversary has also been met with warnings it is unlikely to survive until its 100th birthday without drastic change.

Three think tanks - The King's Fund, the Health Foundation and the Nuffield Trust - have urged political leaders to take a new approach.

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at The Kings Fund, said: "History tells us that we do need to spend more on the NHS.

"Anything less than 2% is managed decline - and what we are spending now 3-4% is just standing still."

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