More than £15 million of urgent repairs are required in Bassetlaw and Doncaster hospitals in order to prevent ‘catastrophic failures’ and risks to safety, new Government figures reveal.
A report released by NHS Digital shows that Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospital NHS Trust currently has backlog of ‘high risk’ repairs totalling £15,795,730.
The NHS Trust currently oversees three sites across the district – including Bassetlaw District General Hospital, Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Montagu Hospital.
Without the repairs, it means that they could potentially result in major disruption to clinical services or serious injury in they are not addressed immediately.
Examples of maintenance could include upgrading software on medical equipment, maintaining generators and boilers, and ensuring the structural integrity of buildings.
The report has separated the types of repairs from ‘high risk’ to ‘low risk’. In total, the three hospitals in the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust totals more than £79 million.
As a result of the findings, the NHS Trust hope to reduce that figure by more than £36 million.
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Dr Kirsty Edmondson Jones, director of estates and facilities at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, said: “As a trust, we are committed to improving our sites to ensure that they continue to be safe, comply with all regulations and are suitable for the operation of modern patient services.
“With three main hospitals sites, the trust has a range of buildings and facilities with the older facilities requiring additional maintenance and upkeep.
“As a result of this, this year we will spend more than £12 million on tackling improvements and maintenance requirements.
“In order to accelerate progress we have already submitted plans for additional funding which, if successful, will improve a many areas of the Trust and significantly reduce the critical and maintenance backlog by £36 million.”
Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at health think-tank the King’s Fund said that the high figure can be attributed to a lack of funding to NHS services.
He said: “Continued under-investment has left some hospitals delivering healthcare in buildings that are quite literally falling apart.
“Deteriorating facilities and unreliable equipment can expose staff and patients to increasing safety risks, and make NHS services less productive as operations and appointments may be cancelled at short notice.”
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