A chronic lack of investment in NHS infrastructure has led to thousands of NHS buildings reaching a critical stage of disrepair. A report shows more than 2000 HNS buildings are older than the health service itself.
Building State Causes Concern Over Patient Safety
NHS Digital data shows 34 out of 211 NHS trusts in England, at least one in four buildings were built before 1948, which is when the health service was formed.
Old Isn’t a Problem – As Long as It’s Maintained
Although building age in of itself isn’t an issue, without upkeep and maintenance serious problems can begin. These are beginning to come to the fore as maintenance backlogs begin.
Data Shows Maintenance Backlog is Large – and Growing
The Estates Returns Information Collection, Summary page and dataset for ERIC 2022/23 shows that the backlog for maintenance has risen by 13.6%. Estimates show it’ll cost £11.6bn to clear it.
Unsuitable Buildings Causing Patient and Staff Problems
Last month, the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, had a ceiling collapse on a patient who was receiving life support.
Doctor Breaks Leg in Lift Fail
In the same month, a lift fell 4 floors at the Royal London hospital. A doctor broke his leg in the incident. Other lifts in the building were closed pending an investigation into their safety.
From Leaks to Electrical Faults
Other maintenance issues include leaks in sinks, leaks in sewage works, electrical issues, lack of basic repairs to heating, air conditioning and similar units. It’s reached a crisis point.
Social Media Highlighting the Problems
The difficulty facing the government is they can’t hide the problems, or pretend they don’t exist. A quick social media search highlights the extent of the problem. Videos of heavy leaks are abundant.
Lib Dems on the Attack
The Liberal Democrats’ health and social care spokesperson, Daisy Cooper, said the NHS buildings were a “national scandal”, with millions of people “treated in old and crumbling hospitals that are no longer fit for purpose”.
Capital Allocation Criticised
Cooper went on to say “Patients and staff deserve the dignity of safe, modern and clean hospitals. But instead this government has shamefully chosen to raid capital budgets for fixing crumbling buildings to plug the gap in day-to-day costs, while hospitals are literally falling apart.
Cooper Puts Onus on Sunak to Deliver Improvements
She also said, “Rishi Sunak needs to get a grip and announce a plan to fix our crumbling hospital buildings. Patients should not have to pay the price for this Conservative government’s chronic neglect of the health service.”
NHS Staff Frustrated
Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers (the membership organisation for NHS acute, ambulance, community and mental health services that treat patients) said: “The situation is just getting worse year after year. The safety of patients and staff is at risk. NHS trusts have an £11bn-plus list of essential repairs waiting to be done and the backlog is mounting at an alarming rate.”
Costs High, and Rising
She also said, “The eye-watering cost of trying to keep creaking buildings and out-of-date facilities going is soaring. To be properly equipped to give people first-class care, the NHS needs safe, 21st-century buildings and facilities.”
Government Claims it’s Investing
A government spokesperson said: “We’re investing record sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings, with £4.2bn invested last year alone, which has helped us achieve the biggest five-month fall in waiting lists in the past 10 years.”
Promises on New Hospitals
“This is on top of expected investment of over £20bn for the New Hospital Programme – with four hospitals already open and another four due to follow this financial year and a further £1.7bn for more than 70 hospital upgrades.”
National Audit Office Refutes These Claims
The National Audit Office produced an analysis report that said of the 32 projects announced in 2020, only 11 of them qualify as “whole new hospitals”.
Target Will Be Missed
Gareth Davies, head of the National Audit Office, said, “By the definition the government used in 2020, it will now deliver 32 rather than 40 new hospitals by 2030.”
Government Record on NHS Disastrous
Frankly, the Tory record on the NHS is appalling. Recent analysis shows highest ever levels of public frustration with how the NHS has been run by the government.
Waiting Times Longest Ever
The waiting times for treatment in the NHS have reached a crisis point. Waiting times across several different departments are now at their longest ever, and people are regularly waiting for over 12 hours for an ambulance.
Changes Need to be Implemented
There’s hope that a change in government will address these longstanding and deep issues. The NHS infrastructure needs a complete overhaul in certain sectors, as well as further investment in staff numbers in order to make it fit for purpose.
More Articles Like This…
Broken Britain: 12 Reasons Behind the UK’s Decline
Say the Unsayable: 10 Occasions When Farage Spoke His Mind About Britain
The post — first appeared on Edge Media.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / John Gomez.