Hospitals are in desperate need of millions for repairs
NHS buildings across Greater Manchester need millions of pounds of repairs to bring them up to scratch, shock new figures have revealed.
Data released by NHS Digital has revealed the extent of the maintenance backlog across NHS property and facilities in England, with the British Medical Association warning it is having an impact on patient care.
The research found that The Manchester University NHS Foundation and Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trusts require millions of worth of urgent repairs in order to prevent ‘catastrophic’ failures and risk to safety.
The Manchester University Trust – which includes Manchester Royal Infirmary and Eye Hospital, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, and St Mary’s, Wythenshawe, Withington and Trafford General hospitals – is currently sitting on a backlog of £49m worth of repairs or replacements which should have been carried out on its buildings and equipment.
Around £4.7m worth of the outstanding jobs are classed as ‘high risk’ repairs – which mean they could cause ‘catastrophic failure, major disruption to clinical services or deficiencies in safety liable to cause serious injury and prosecution’ if not addressed immediately.
The backlog at the Pennine Acute Trust – which includes The Royal Oldham, Rochdale Infirmary and North Manchester and Fairfield General Hospitals – stands at £16.8m, with £6m worth of the repairs classed as ‘high risk’.
Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at independent health think tank the King’s Fund, added: “Continued underinvestment has left some hospitals delivering healthcare in buildings that are quite literally falling apart.”