Maintenance costs for hospitals top £1bn mark

The cost of maintenance work on hospitals in England topped £1bn in the last year.

Some £1,013m was spent on maintaining the hospitals estate in the 2021/22 financial year, according to the NHS's annual Estates Returns Information Collection – up from £987m in the previous year, and £890m in 2017/18.

The figures emerged after opposition parties criticised the Government for overseeing a "crumbling" NHS estate, with Labour questioning the future of the pledge to build 40 new hospitals, set out in the Tories' 2019 election manifesto.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, who wrote to ministers requesting the costs, said: "Rishi Sunak appears to have ditched the 40 new hospitals pledge. The Conservatives literally didn't fix the hospital roof when the sun was shining and now patients are paying the price and taxpayers are paying more.”

Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman, Daisy Cooper said: "Patients and staff are being let down and now the true extent of our run-down hospitals has been revealed."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We have invested record sums to upgrade NHS buildings and facilities.”

This, they said involved spending £685m to eradicate reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) from the NHS estate by 2035.

RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete used in roof, floor and wall construction from the mid-1950s which has in recent years become the subject of structural safety concerns.

The spokesperson added: "We have invested £3.7bn for the first four years of the New Hospital Programme and remain committed to all schemes.”