'Please save our hospital staff accommodation'

NHS staff living in hospital accommodation have appealed to their local council to save them from being evicted.

Seventy-six tenants of three housing blocks at Rotherham Hospital were served notice to vacate the site by the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust last month.

Estate management said it would be too costly to renovate Loxley Court, Derwent Court and Swale Court in line with modern safety standards and carry out repairs.

A demonstration took place outside Rotherham Town Hall on Wednesday and the affected staff called on the borough council to support them.

Mick Suter, chair of the Sheffield Save Our NHS campaign group, said 28 people remained living in the blocks but that their mood was "low".

He added: "These tenants pay £400-600 to live on-site. They feel safe.

"They cannot find anything close to that price range close to the hospital. What can they do?"

Dr Umamah Yusufi, who has worked at Rotherham Hospital, attended the protest and said the accommodation was an incentive used during recruitment.

"I'm angered that they've made this decision. They struggle with staffing at the hospital. This was the one pull they had.

"This is not how you show staff that you care about them and their wellbeing."

A healthcare support worker who has been a Loxley Court resident since 2007 said: "The current situation is dreadful. It's like being in limbo land."

During the meeting at the town hall the tenant, who did not wish to give their name, asked Rotherham Council to consider buying the blocks from the NHS, or managing them so that tenants could remain in their homes.

Councillor Sarah Allen, Cabinet member for housing, told the group that the buildings were not up for sale and that the council would be "unlikely" to purchase them if they were.

She added: "As we understand it, the NHS Trust is not considering selling these blocks, and will be using them in the future.

"If they were to be for sale, it's unlikely that the council would be in a position to acquire them, given their location and potential refurbishment costs."

A spokesperson for the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said: "Residents of three of our accommodation blocks were informed in August 2024 that their tenancy agreements would end in January 2025 due to the unaffordable costs of addressing both the identified safety risks and of bringing the blocks up to modern living standards. The safety of our residents is of utmost importance to us and the decision taken is a reflection of this."

The remaining tenants have been asked to vacate their properties by 10 February.

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