AN NHS trust won its High Court fight today to cancel a £321 million PFI contract for an unsafe mental health hospital.

Patients at Roseberry Park in Middlesbrough, which opened in 2010, had to be moved almost 20 miles away due to fears over serious defects in the hospital’s fire safety systems, as well as problem with its roof and plumbing.

Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald said the “almost cavalier attitude to proper construction standards” at the facility had “echoes” of last year’s Grenfell Tower fire disaster after he visited the £75m hospital in January.

Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust had to employ on-site fire wardens and provide extra fire training to staff while it moved patients to other sites in stages.

PFI firm Three Valleys Healthcare Ltd had already paid out more than £2m over failures to meet the terms of the contract before the trust filed notice of termination of the contract last June.

But the trust was forced to take the PFI contractor, and project-funder Bank of Scotland, to court to cancel the contract, which would have paid out hundreds of millions of pounds until March 2040.

Three Valleys and Bank of Scotland claimed that the notice was invalid because it did not clearly set out what was owed, but Ms Justice O’Farrell dismissed their case and upheld the decision to terminate the contract.

Mr McDonald told the Star: “It is extremely good news that the PFI contract has been cancelled by the High Court.

“We do need to take a long hard look at PFI contracts as every penny paid to a PFI company is money not being spent on patients, or on training doctors and nurses.

“The announcement today comes on the eve of the 70th anniversary of our greatest achievement namely the founding of  the NHS and Labour in Government will ensure that the burden of PFI debt from our vital health services is removed.”

Trust chief executive Colin Martin said: “We are pleased that the judge has ruled in our favour and our costs have been met.

“Unfortunately, as there are other legal processes underway we are not able to provide more information at this time.”

Roseberry Park has also been affected by the collapse of outsourcing giant Carillion, which was paid £2m a year to maintain the hospital under the PFI contract, and Three Valleys’ parent company going into administration.

The trust had to step in and take on the maintenance and security of the hospital last week as a result of Carillion’s demise.

Bank of Scotland said it was “currently reviewing the judgement.”

The Star was unable to contact Three Valleys Healthcare.