The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) Programme has appointed Integrated Health Projects (IHP) as main building contractor
The National Rehabilitation Centre will be one of the first schemes to be delivered under the government’s commitment to building 40 new hospitals by 2030.
The NRC will also be designed to be net zero carbon, so that it can meet the Greener NHS pledge to be the world’s first net zero national health service.
The National Rehabilitation Centre site is now ready for pre-construction activity. The site is part of the Stanford Hall Rehabilitation Estate (SHRE) near Rempstone in Nottinghamshire. Once agreements have been made with government, full construction may begin.
The National Rehabilitation Centre has partnered with IHP
In order to achieve the best results, quality and value, partnering is an essential part of the contracting process.
IHP, an established alliance between Vinci Construction UK and Sir Robert McAlpine, was selected following the Procure process under the P22 Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) procurement framework which provides Design and Construction Services for use by the NHS and Social Care organisations.
As part of the contract, a Partnering Agreement overlay will be adopted which is a collaboration agreement between the central New Hospital Programme (NHP), Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) and IHP, as well as Trusts and contractors for other early NHP schemes. This approach is to allow for a collaborative environment across Trusts delivering the early schemes within the NHP.
What exactly does the NRC do?
The National Rehabilitation Centre is a unique and brand-new facility with the potential to transform clinical rehabilitation across the NHS in England and Wales.
The NRC consists of the National Clinical Academic Partnership of 22 Higher Education Institutions with the University of Nottingham and Loughborough University leading the way.
The plan is for clinical rehabilitation, research, development and commercial innovation, and training and education to be combined under one roof. It is anticipated that the NRC will be game-changing for patients in terms of the quality of life potentially achievable after serious injury or illness.
Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust is the NRC Programme sponsor and NUH is procuring the main contractor appointment.
The 70-bed facility has been designed to integrate with the natural landscape of the Stanford Hall Rehabilitation Estate. It has also specified the highest standards of sustainability.
Achieving net zero carbon over the entire life of the building
The NRC has been designed so that it will continue to achieve net zero carbon over the entire life of the building.
There is no requirement for any fossil fuels, and carbon-free electricity will be generated through solar panels on the site. The structure will be highly insulated so that energy loss is kept to a minimum and it will be built using low carbon materials such as timber.
The NRC will be built on a site approximately 400m from the counterpart Defence facility – the ‘Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) Stanford Hall’ – which is operated by the Ministry of Defence and opened in 2018. Both the NRC and the Defence facility are part of the overall Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC) Programme.
The NRC will share knowledge and some specialist facilities with the Defence facility to the benefit of both of these organisations. It is hoped that this sharing will be allow both facilities to achieve more than the sum of their individual parts.
Alongside IHP, the NRC project team includes Ryder Architecture, Arup and Fira (landscape architects).
NRC programme director, Miriam Duffy, said:
“This is excellent news for all of us eager to see the benefits of the NRC realised and the facility become operational as soon as possible. IHP is a great fit and I’m impressed not just with their technical capability but with their understanding of the uniqueness of the NRC. We’re confident of creating a great construction partnership that will see the outstanding NRC building come to life and help us to get on with treating patients.”
‘We are delighted that IHP has been appointed to the construction of the National Rehabilitation Centre through the P22 DHSC procurement framework’
Stuart McArthur, healthcare sector lead at IHP, added:
“We are delighted that IHP has been appointed to the construction of the National Rehabilitation Centre through the P22 DHSC procurement framework. Through the 20 successful years of our alliance, we have demonstrated that we have the expertise and experience necessary to match the unique nature of this project.
“We look forward to working in close collaboration with NHP and NUH on delivering this new model of rehabilitation in an inspiring setting, which will benefit patients and staff whilst supporting leading edge research.”
Senior responsible owner for the New Hospital Programme, Natalie Forrest, commented:
“This is an important milestone for the National Rehabilitation Centre as we deliver on the government’s commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030.
“Together with eight existing schemes, this will mean 48 hospitals delivered by the end of the decade. This new facility will transform outcomes for people who have suffered potentially life-changing injury, trauma and illness.”
