This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Trust bosses say hospital buildings in urgent need of repairs
Hospital leaders in England have said they are "living with risk" every day, with urgent building repairs needed due to delayed funding.
According to NHS trust leaders, vital upgrade projects have stalled due to delays in funding allocations.
The critical care unit at one trust had to be closed and planned operations halted due to structural safety concerns. NHS Providers, representing trusts in England, said that one hospital is relying on temporary generators with no back-up, while another trust has installed props and steel beams in the maternity unit.
The government has said it is working closely with trusts on building plans. However, hospital leaders say the current political situation, with the government in turmoil, is complicating the situation.
NHS Providers chief executive Saffron Corder said: "This kind of political paralysis and instability is deeply unhelpful for the NHS when we've got a whole range of critical decisions that need to be made not only in capital investments but also NHS pay."
NHS providers said that the government's plan for 40 new hospitals by 2030 is "on shaky ground". A recent survey of members that are part of the building programme found that half are not confident the funding they have been allocated will be sufficient to deliver the project, with a number of trusts still waiting for the go-ahead for "shovel-ready" projects.
It has already been revealed that the "new" hospitals pledge does not mean that 40 new hospitals will be built. The 40 new hospitals could include "a major new clinical building on an existing site, a new wing of an existing hospital or a major refurbishment and alteration of a hospital building".
The National Audit Office (NAO) has said it will launch a value-for-money review of the programme later this year.
Gareth Davies, from the NAO has cited implications of delay for increasing costs at a time of high inflation, and whether all the projects truly met the classification of "new hospital".
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