Work on new hospital building to be redone

The NHS has confirmed work on a new hospital will have to be redone.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust said the new Berwick Community Hospital will need to be stripped back to its structural steelwork after inspections found building work carried out so far was not up to standard.

New contractors Robertson have been working with the trust to determine what will need to be done for the scheme to progress - additional costs to the £35m project are currently unknown.

Damon Kent, executive director of estates and facilities, said while the work so far will not be demolished, internal work and some of the facade will have to be removed.

Construction firm Merit was initially contracted to carry out the construction, but the company collapsed into administration in late 2025.

Now after several months of inspections by Robertson, it has been decided much of the work done so far, including mechanical and electrical systems, pipework and the external facade and steel frame will need to be removed and replaced.

Only the main structural steel work will remain.

Tom Young, whose house backs onto the new hospital build said living beside the construction site was a "nightmare" and felt the building should be torn down.

"It's rotten to the core," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"It's a national scandal, but it's a personal anguish.

"How much is it going to be to put it right? Had they built it on a site that was suitable as a conventional build it would have been finished.

"It has completely failed," the 78-year-old said.

Young said he raised concerns with the NHS about the construction.

Young's wife, Hilda, said the couple want to move away but were trapped due to the unfinished construction site.

"We came down here for a quiet life," she said.

"We would love it to be torn down."

Kent, said the NHS trust remains in "close contact" with residents.

"I think everybody in Berwick feels the pain of this, it is very difficult," he said.

"We feel we have been let down by Merit.

"We have got absolute confidence in the new contractor, they are very established and have a proven track record.

"We can rebuild from a stable footing, it has to be done properly."

Northumbria Healthcare will be holding a public drop-in information session at Berwick Town Hall on 9 December.

Merit was approached for comment.

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