The “dilapidated” state of NHS facilities are putting patients at risk, according to a new report.
Patients and staff are using buildings with “leaking roofs and broken boilers” while some hospitals have not been able to replace old building materials which are at risk of “sudden collapse”, NHS Providers warned.
The organisation, which represents NHS trusts, said the “long neglected” NHS estate in England needs to be brought “into the 21st century” to help both patients and staff.
Deteriorating NHS infrastructure and estates risk patient safety and quality of care.— NHS Providers
“We highlight the extent of the dilapidated estate and make the case for strategic capital investment,” the authors wrote.
They added: “Deteriorating NHS infrastructure and estates risk patient safety and quality of care.”
The new report, called No More Sticking Plasters, also calls upon the Government to expedite the replacement of “unsafe” reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete planks used in construction between 1960 and 1980.
The precast concrete has an expected lifespan of 30 years but some trusts have had them in place for 50 years or more and the report calls for action to “mitigate the risk of sudden collapse”.
This includes 14 hospitals which will require extensive building work to prevent their closure, NHS Providers said.
The authors of the report added: “Of the 14 hospitals, seven are at a critical level of risk and only two of these are currently included in the government‘s New Hospital Programme.”
The report suggests that the poor condition of the infrastructure could mean some of the targets to improve care could be at risk.
“The operational ask of the NHS cannot be delivered without adequate capital investment,” the authors of the report wrote.
This could include some targets including reducing A&E wait times, improving ambulance response times and improving hospital bed capacity levels.
Critics have said that although the NHS received increases in capital funding in the 2021 Spending Review, the investment falls short of what is needed.
The new NHS Providers report claims that capital investment has not kept pace with demand over the last 10 years.
The maintenance repair bill currently stands at £10.75 billion.
Trusts are committed to delivering integrated, high-quality care but they aren’t being given the tools to do this.— Sir Julian Hartley
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “Capital investment in the NHS has simply not kept pace with rising demands on the NHS over the last ten years.
“Trusts welcomed the multi-year capital budget set at the October 2021 Spending Review and the contribution this will make towards improving productivity and performance after years of under-investment.
“But the fact remains that there is not nearly enough ‘give’ within the system to meet rising operational pressures on the capital budget.
“The government needs to make some major decisions about the growing maintenance backlog as well as the New Hospitals Programme (NHP), which has been beset by delays and indecision over funding.
“These delays are now leading to spiralling, inflation-driven cost increases far above initial forecasts, and it is increasingly questionable whether the £3.7 billion set aside for the NHP will meet the demands of all the trusts in the programme.
“Urgent decisions are also needed about replacing RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) planks, which present a major and unjustifiable safety risk.
“Trusts are committed to delivering integrated, high-quality care but they aren’t being given the tools to do this. Strategic investment is vital if we are to transform the delivery of healthcare and modernise the ageing NHS estate.”
Our record investment in the NHS is helping to cut the Covid backlogs – we’ve virtually eliminated two-year waits for treatment and have cut waits of more than 18 months by over two-thirds from their peak— Department of Health and Social Care
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are investing record sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings so staff have the facilities needed to provide world-class care for patients, backed by £4.2 billion this year and £8.4 billion over the next two years.
“We will also deliver 40 new hospitals as part of the biggest hospital building programme in a generation, as well as over 70 hospital upgrades across England, and will eradicate RAAC from the NHS estate by 2035.
“Our record investment in the NHS is helping to cut the Covid backlogs – we’ve virtually eliminated two-year waits for treatment and have cut waits of more than 18 months by over two-thirds from their peak.”
