Care Facilities

Delivering Integrated Hoisting for England’s First NHS National Rehabilitation Centre

Supplying and installing the complete hoisting provision for a £107 million, 70-bed specialist rehabilitation centre at the Stanford Hall Rehabilitation Estate.

Client Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Location Stanford on Soar

Contractor IHP (Integrated Health Projects)

Sector

Health

The Challenge

The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is a £107 million facility built to transform rehabilitation in England. It helps people regain their independence after serious illness or injury through advanced facilities, research, innovation and education. As a 70-bed specialist centre caring for patients with a wide range of mobility needs, including bariatric patients, the NRC needed hoisting that was safe, dependable and suited to every part of the building, from gyms to bedrooms. The Trust also wanted the bedrooms to feel restorative rather than clinical. This meant the hoisting had to deliver full clinical capability while staying as discreet as possible. As a flagship national facility under the New Hospital Programme, every detail had to be right.

Approach

Innova worked under the principal contractor, IHP, and met the client several times throughout the project to understand how each space would be used by patients and therapists. These meetings gave the Trust the assurance it needed on track layouts, ceiling interfaces and installation details before work began on site. By taking responsibility for the full hoisting provision across the building, Innova gave the project one specialist partner for every hoist, in every area. Specification, coordination and installation stayed consistent from start to finish, reducing complexity for both the contractor and the Trust.

Implementation

Innova supplied and installed all the hoists across the NRC, using the AirRise range to match the needs of each space:

Gyms and bedrooms: five AirRise 275 hoists and four AirRise 350 bariatric hoists.
Bariatric bedrooms: each has a monorail track inset into the ceiling. When the hoist is on charge, it parks inside a cupboard, keeping the room calm, uncluttered and non-clinical in appearance.
Rehabilitation flat: Innova donated an AirRise 200 on an X-Y to X-Y system, connecting the bedroom and lounge through a double transit coupling. The hoist can travel smoothly between rooms, recreating the kind of transfers patients may need at home and supporting their preparation for discharge.

We also provided training for staff to ensure that they feel confident using the hoisting systems to safely manoeuvre patients.

Results

The NRC welcomed its first patients in September 2026, marking a new chapter in specialist rehabilitation care. Every hoisting need across the centre, from bariatric gym transfers to discreet bedroom systems and a realistic home setting in the rehabilitation flat, is met by one coordinated hoisting solution. Patients benefit from safe, dignified transfers in spaces that feel supportive rather than clinical. Therapists have reliable equipment that suits each stage of a patient’s recovery.

With one specialist partner responsible for the entire provision, the Trust has consistent equipment throughout the building and a single point of contact for future support. The result is a hoisting installation that fits the NRC’s ambition to become a world-leading centre of excellence for rehabilitation.