Crumbling hospitals are suffering chemical leaks and broken fire alarms as NHS repair bill passes £10billion

Crumbling NHS hospitals are suffering chemical leaks and broken fire alarms as the cost of tackling the repair backlog passes £10billion, an investigation reveals.

Bosses reported 115 chemical incidents last year, including on children’s wards, A&Es and maternity units.

Health leaders last night described the repair bill as ‘eye-watering’ and warned buildings and facilities are ‘in a very bad way and getting worse’.

Manchester University Trust recorded 22 chemical leaks, which is more than any other trust that responded to a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats.

This included a spill in a childbirth delivery ward at St Mary’s and in a Children’s Theatre at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Manchester University Trust recorded 22 chemical leaks, which is more than any other trust that responded to a Freedom of Information request

Bosses reported 115 chemical incidents last year, including on children’s wards, A&Es and maternity units. Pictured: Royal Liverpool Hospital flooded 10 times in 2018, causing delays to patient care and forcing staff to wear wellies

In Newcastle, an NHS hospital had six leaks including in catering facilities, whilst in London, Kingston Hospital had eight leaks, and Lewisham Hospital had a chemical leak in their A&E ward.

A separate FoI request by the Party asked hospital trusts about the number of fires in the past year, as well as the number of broken fire alarms.

Some 83 trusts supplied data, reporting a total of 297 fires but NHS statistics show there were 1,159 blazes across the NHS in 2022.

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which had 17 fires in its hospitals last year also had 17 broken fire alarms.

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust had two fires and 17 broken alarms.

And the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, which reported one fire in its building last year, also had 17 broken fire alarms.

The cost of eradicating the repair backlog for NHS hospitals and equipment passed £10billion for the first time last year, official figures show.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said: ‘Keeping patients and staff safe is vital. High-quality care depends on having reliable buildings and equipment.

‘Too many NHS buildings and facilities are in a very bad way and getting worse.

‘Trust leaders have warned long and loud about the eye-watering cost of trying to patch up creaking infrastructure and out-of-date facilities.

‘The multi-billion pound repairs bill is growing at an alarming rate.

‘Many trusts in the government’s New Hospital Programme were deeply disappointed to learn that their building plans won’t be delivered before 2030.

‘It was even more frustrating for those that missed the ‘cut’ and weren’t given any funding at all despite expectations.

‘Hospitals and mental health, ambulance and community NHS services need investment for essential projects to overhaul ageing facilities, improving care, supporting staff and giving a lift to their communities.’

An ITV investigation in February 2023 revealed the grim condition of St Helier Hospital in south London, which is said to be ‘literally crumbling’

Some wards at the hospital have become so unsafe they have been shut (pictured) and what was once an intensive care unit is being used a store room due to a broken ventilation system

Clips released as part of an ITV investigation show ‘leaks so severe they flood and close corridors’, maternity staff working under sheets full of water, and broken doors being propped open by waste bins (pictured)

Another FoI request by the Liberal Democrats last year discovered hundreds of sewage leaks in hospitals around the country.

Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson, said: ‘This is shocking.

‘Hospitals are falling apart, with chemical leaks in critical wards and a frightening number of faulty fire alarms.

‘The repair budget for crumbling hospitals is mounting up yet Ministers are nowhere to be found.

‘We already know the government is on track to break its promise on delivering its so-called ‘new hospitals’ by 2030, so the very least they could do is fix the ones we have.

‘Patients deserve the dignity of being treated in safe, modern and clean hospitals.

‘Instead we have heard stories of sewage spills and chemical leaks leading to evacuations.

‘The British public pay their fair share and deserve better than this.

‘The Conservative government needs to step up and fix our hospitals.’