One in five think their local NHS hospital is in a poor condition 

EMBARGO: 22:30 THURSDAY 16TH MARCH 

• Lib Dems slam budget for no mention of crumbling hospitals or “the fairytale 40 new hospitals”

• Chancellor offered no new funding for hospitals which are at risk of collapse as patients put in danger 

One in five (20%) adults think their local NHS hospital is either in poor or very poor condition, new polling commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has found.

This figure rises to over one in four (28%)  among adults living in the East of England, where hospital roofs are being held up by steel stilts. The region is known for having hospitals fitted with roofs which NHS chiefs say “may collapse at any moment”. Concerns over the dangerous roof at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Cambridgeshire has led to patients over a certain weight being banned from two of its operating theatres in case they put too much strain on the floor. 

Four buildings at Queen Elizabeth hospital Kings Lynn are fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which are known for being cheap and weak. Across the country, 18 NHS trusts have hospitals fitted with the dangerous concrete roofs, yet the Chancellor did not bring forward a fund to fix the problem. 

A recent freedom of Information investigation by the Liberal Democrats found there were a staggering 450 sewage leaks in England’s hospitals last year, with staff becoming sick from the leaks. 

This week’s budget offered no update on the Government’s promise of delivering 40 new hospitals by 2030. A Parliamentary Question recently revealed just a quarter of the new hospitals have planning permission. The new hospital programme is heavily delayed, with local NHS trusts admitting they are years behind schedule. 

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“The NHS was the elephant in the room during the budget. The Chancellor’s refusal to fix England’s crumbling hospitals is shameful. The fact our country’s hospitals have fallen into this state is a national scandal. 

“Roofs are literally collapsing over patients and nurses are mopping up foul sewage leaks in cancer wards. These horror stories have to end now. Instead, the Chancellor has buried his head in the sand, instead of bringing forward an emergency fund to fix our hospitals. 

“Patients lying in pain and our heroic nurses deserve the dignity of modern hospitals. There is still no sign of the fairytale 40 new hospitals promised by the Government. Most of these new hospitals still haven’t even got planning permission. 

“It feels increasingly that communities across the country have been taken for granted and these new hospitals are nowhere to be found.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

Methodology: Savanta interviewed 2,153 UK adults aged 18+ online between 10th and 12th March 2023. Data were weighted to be representative of the UK by age, sex, region and social grade. Savanta is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

NHS battles sewage leaks as repair backlog grows - BBC News

Revealed: only 10 of Boris Johnson’s promised 40 new hospital projects have planning permission - Observer