Maintenance work costs on England’s hospitals soared above £1billion last year

Maintenance work on England’s hospitals rose to over £1billion last year, data shared by ministers has revealed.

The £1,013,000,000 spent in 2021/22 increased from £987m in the previous year and £890m in 2017/18.

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Information shared by Health Secretary Will Quince appears to show that maintenance backlog investments have also increased dramatically.

Opposition parties have criticized the Government for overseeing a “crumbling” NHS estate.

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting, writing to ministers demanding the cost, said: “Patients are paying the price for Conservative failures with longer waits, while taxpayers are paying more but getting less thanks to delays.”

“Rishi Sunak appears to have dropped the promise of 40 new hospitals, adding another blunder to the Conservatives’ record of over-promising and under-delivering.

“The Conservatives literally didn’t fix the hospital roof when the sun was out and now the NHS is crumbling.

Health spokeswoman and Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said: “The Conservative Government is systematically failing our NHS.

“Across our country, too many NHS buildings that people rely on have expired or are crumbling.

“Patients and staff are being abandoned and now the true extent of our run down hospitals has been revealed.

“With hospitals crumbling, emergency room waits rising and nurses being taken for granted by ministers, it is clearer than ever that Britain will never again trust the Conservative Party to run the NHS.”

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We have invested record sums in upgrading NHS buildings and facilities so that trusts can continue to provide the best possible quality of care.

“We are committed to removing RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) from the NHS property by 2035, protecting the safety of patients and staff during the transition period, including investing over £685m to address urgent risks head on.

“We have invested £3.7 billion in the first four years of the New Hospital Program and remain committed to all the programs announced as part of it.”