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Five New Hospitals in England to be Rebuilt by 2030

Five New Hospitals in England to be Rebuilt by 2030
30 May 2023 | Updated 01 September 2023
 

Unsafe hospital buildings in England that pose a risk to patient and staff safety will be prioritised with new funding to rebuild them by 2030.

Airedale in West Yorkshire, Queen Elizabeth King’s Lynn in Norfolk, Hinchingbrooke in Cambridgeshire, Mid Cheshire Leighton in Cheshire and Frimley Park in Surrey all have significant amounts of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) – a material no longer used by the NHS estate due to its limited lifespan.

However, due to this reprioritisation and the rising cost of construction materials, up to eight previously announced new hospital schemes will now be completed past 2030.

As part of the New Hospital Programme, an investment of over £20 billion is expected to be spent on new hospital infrastructure. The government says that they are “on track” to deliver their manifesto commitment to build 40 new hospitals in England by 2030.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said: “These 5 hospitals are in pressing need of repair and are being prioritised so patients and staff can benefit from major new hospital buildings, equipped with the latest technology.

“The government remains committed to eradicating RAAC from the wider NHS estate by 2035 and has already allocated £685 million in immediate support to affected trusts to help keep patients and staff safe.

 

What is Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete?

 

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is a lightweight type of concrete used to construct parts of the NHS estate in the past. But it has a limited lifespan, after which it deteriorates significantly. It was used widely in the UK from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s.

RAAC panels have low compressive strength, around 10-20 per cent of traditional concrete, reducing the shear and bending strength. It’s also very porous and highly permeable, so steel reinforcement within the panels is less protected against rusting than steel reinforcement in traditional concrete.

In the 1990s, several bodies recognised these structural deficiencies in RAAC panels, reporting cracking, excessive displacements and poor durability. The Building Research Establishment (BRE) undertook a number of inspections of school roofs, reporting several concerns, which were also raised within the 1997 Standing Committee on Structural Safety (SCOSS) report.

In 2017, an RAAC roof collapsed suddenly in a school, triggered by outfall gutters becoming blocked which allowed ponding of water on the roof to quickly build up during a storm.

Picture: a photograph of staff outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital, who are holding placards which say "We are on the list?". Image Credit: Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 30 May 2023

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