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Hospital hopes to attract nurses with new £16.4m staff accommodation

A £16.4 million staff accommodation block to be built at a hospital in Lincolnshire is step towards meeting the nationwide shortage of quality, affordable NHS accommodation.    
housing

Work is due to start on a new £16.4 million accommodation block at a hospital in Lincolnshire in a bid to recruit and retain nurses.

housing
An artist's impression of the new staff accommodation planned at Grimsby Hospital.

Planning permission has been granted and work will begin on 31 July for the new block for key workers – hard-to-recruit staff including nurses and doctors.

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust said staff feedback surveys have shown that the provision of good quality staff accommodation is a 'major recruitment and retention issue'.

It said the current residential block at the Grimbsy hospital site was in need of significant upgrading for it to be of a high enough standard to attract new staff.

Vital need

The new block will consist of 96 student units and 124 studio apartments. Work is expected to be completed in late 2018, with staff moving in by early in 2019.

Director of estates and facilities Jug Johal said: ‘This is a much needed development as the current accommodation is in poor condition, and in order for the trust to recruit and retain medical staff, new, modern accommodation is vital.’ 

The issue of on-site accommodation at NHS trust was highlighted ahead of the NHS Confederation conference in June.

The organisation, which represents health service organisations across England, said poor quality staff accommodation is a major barrier to recruitment and retention of nurses and doctors, particularly in London and the south east, and proposed that 40,000 NHS homes be built on unused land.

Serious shortage

‘A serious shortage of affordable housing and the cost of poor quality housing on the NHS is estimated to be costing at least £1.4 billion a year,’ the organisation said.

In other areas, some NHS organisations already provide rented accommodation for staff.

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has the Nightingale Residences beside the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, in Margate. It charges a single occupant less than £400 a month for a fully furnished flat, more than £100 below the local market price.


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