Almost 20% of the public said their local hospital was not a safe place to receive care in a recent survey, while a further 30% did not know whether they were safe.
This means that one half in total felt unsure or negative about the safety of their local hospital building infrastructure.
Of those who said their hospital was unsafe, more than one quarter (27%) were worried the roof would collapse. Another quarter (26%) were concerned about rodent and insect infestations. The most prevalent concerns were:
- Power failures – 34%
- Heating failures – 32%
- Roof collapse – 27%
- Rodent/insect infestations – 26%
- Sewage leaks or flooding – 20%.
This data was collected by Savanta on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Party. Health and social care spokesperson Helen Morgan said: ‘It’s shocking that so many patients no longer trust the buildings they rely on to get better, fearing the very walls they’re treated in might crumble. Patients should only worry about their health – not whether the roof will cave in on them.’
‘Disgraceful’ hospital conditions
Previous Liberal Democrat research found that there was a large backlog of high risk repairs which if not addressed could lead to serious injury or disruption to services.
In 2020, a new hospital programme was announced, pledging to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030. This includes extensions and refurbishment of several older hospitals. However, construction has been delayed at many sites.
At hospital sites with delays, there were 506 infrastructure incidents causing 32 days of clinical time to be lost. Torbay Hospital, one of the delayed projects, has suffered sewage leaks, water ingress and crumbling concrete. Around 80% of the site was found to be in poor or bad condition.
In January 2024 all of Torbay Hospital’s toilet facilities had to be closed as sewage was leaking into wards. The hospital has also placed crash decks at the base of one building to protect from crumbling concrete hitting the floor. The Liberal Democrats said this cost has the hospital more than one million pounds – despite the fact that the building is earmarked for demolition.
Helen Morgan added: ‘The previous Conservative government’s neglect of the NHS brought us to this disgraceful point. Yet, the Labour government has failed to act fast enough to protect patients from these decaying buildings.
‘Ministers must tackle this crisis head-on by creating a dedicated taskforce to drive urgent repairs and safeguard patients. We should be rebuilding the NHS to be the envy of the world it once was, but until these decaying hospitals are fixed, patients will keep paying the price.’
Follow Dentistry.co.uk on Instagram to keep up with all the latest dental news and trends.
