At its core, this is about transforming outcomes for people who have suffered potentially life-changing injury, trauma or illness – and making sure that they can regain a quality of life equivalent to or as close as possible to their life prior to injury or illness.
In 2010, a remarkable opportunity was identified – to create two clinical rehabilitation facilities, one for the armed forces, and the other for NHS patients.
The 6th Duke of Westminster wanted to do something for the members of the Armed Forces who had paid a high price for their service in terms of serious wounding, and the then Defence Secretary urged him to do ‘something for the nation too’.
In 2011, the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC) Programme was created to set up the two rehabilitation establishments which would be co-located and would share expertise and facilities.
The initial treatment received from the NHS by those who experience major and life-threatening injury and illness is outstanding. This is especially true following the creation of a network of Major Trauma Centres across the UK in 2012.
However, the same is not true if such people then require specialist rehabilitation to get back to fitness, to work and meaningful lives. In fact, the UK has the lowest rates of successful patient rehabilitation in Europe and North America.
This failure to support people who have the potential to regain their quality of life both damages the individuals’ mental health and well-being, but also has a significant impact on the economy and national productivity as they are unable to return to work.
The NRC promises to change this, taking 750 patients through intense rehabilitation programmes each year to considerably increase their chances of returning to life and work. Furthermore, this learning and skill development will benefit the recovery of patients throughout the NHS as medical staff take their experiences to other wards and NHS treatment setting.
The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) opened on the Stanford Hall Rehabilitation Estate near Loughborough (bought by the Duke specifically for the DNRC purpose in 2011) in the autumn of 2018, and has been treating members of the Armed Forces since then.
Detailed consideration of the opportunity for an NHS National Rehabilitation Centre began in 2016, and the facility is part of the Government’s New Hospitals Programme. Whilst £70M was pledged towards it in the October 2018 Budget, the current capital commitment from Government for the clinical space is £81M.
A formal public consultation was carried out in September 2020 by the Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which confirmed widespread public support for the NRC plans
In September 2023, the Government’s HM Treasury gave the NRC the official ‘green light’ to proceed with the programme and construction of the facility. Construction is expected to be complete in early 2026, and the doors to be open to patients later that year.
The Black Stork Charity (the DNRC charity) is leasing the £5million land to the NHS at a peppercorn rent, and construction of the new state-of-the-art NRC building is well underway.
In addition to providing excellent patient care, the NRC will also be a national hub for innovation, cutting-edge research and development, and training and education. Therefore, the NRC has two academic partners - the University of Nottingham and Loughborough University, and a national consortium of 24 universities across the country to ensure the NRC remains at the forefront of rehabilitation research and expertise.
Find out more about the future ambition of the NRC to change rehabilitation across the UK: