Cheap Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), concrete filled with bubbles, was used in hundreds of public buildings before it was deemed unsafe following roofs caving in. In 2023, hundreds of schools had to close to make them safe and some hospital ceilings and roofs are still literally being held up with props. The wait to replace them will go on, a report has warned.
The work needed at seven high-priority hospitals is much delayed; it was due to have been completed by 2030. New buildings are now expected to open in 2032 and 2033! Roofs are being supported by metal props and some areas have been closed as unsafe. And during this time, already stretched and slashed NHS funds are having to be used to stop them collapsing and carry out maintenance. By the end of 2025, the seven hospitals will have required more than £500 million to prevent structural failure and simply to keep them from creating more NHS patients, or worse.
All workers deserve to go to work not worrying if they are working in unsafe buildings and patients should not have to risk further injury by going to hospital for treatment.
The NHS urgently needs a gigantic injection of funding, not least to allow treatment to take place, in the first place, in a safe place!
