The country’s first NHS National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), based in Nottinghamshire, has welcomed its first patients, launching a new chapter for rehabilitation in England.
The NRC is a 70-bed, state-of-the-art specialist rehabilitation centre for NHS patients who have experienced a life-changing illness or injury. It is run by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).
NUH has developed a transformative clinical model to be able to deliver more intensive treatments and rehabilitation earlier in a patient’s journey, and has created a bespoke workforce and relevant training to support this.
Capital funding for the construction of the NRC was provided by the government’s New Hospital Programme, and the building is the NHS’s first single-site operationally carbon neutral building, featuring solar panels on the roof of the NRC and four air source heat pumps in the adjacent energy centre.
NHS patients at the NRC will benefit from:
- Earlier access to rehabilitation to enable better outcomes.
- Bespoke intensive rehabilitation programmes for each patient.
- The most comprehensive robotics suite in the NHS, featuring cutting-edge technology from across Europe.
- The first 360-degree partial body weight support system Zero G (similar to a hoist) in the UK.
The NRC will primarily receive patients from across the East Midlands, many of them anticipated to come through the East Midland’s Major Trauma Centre – the busiest in the UK and based at NUH.
Anthony May, chief executive of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The difference the NRC will make to patients and families cannot be underestimated. We are standing on the precipice of something unique and groundbreaking.
"The NRC has been 15 years in the making. I should like to thank all those who have been involved for their perseverance, dedication, and determination to make it a reality. I should like to pay a particular tribute to the Black Stork Charity, and both the late and present Dukes of Westminster, for their considerable and unwavering support since the vision for the Centre was first conceived.
“This is a significant moment for NUH, for rehabilitation medicine in this country, and for the many NHS patients whose lives will be changed and restored in this pioneering facility, set in a unique location.
“Moreover, the innovation, research, and knowledge generated from the NRC will help develop rehabilitation nationally and internationally.”