Crumbling hospitals cause over 100 care disruptions a week, NHS figures show

Boris Johnson at the Princess Alexandra in Harlow, Essex, in 2019. The hospital, among those that he promised a new building, recorded the most disruption. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Hospitals in England are being hit with disruptions to patients’ care more than 100 times every week because of fires, leaks and problems created by outdated buildings, NHS figures reveal.

There have been 27,545 “clinical service incidents” over the past five years – an average of 106 a week – data compiled by the House of Commons library shows.