New Airedale Hospital will not be completed until three years after original deadline, NAO finds
The refurbishment of Airedale General Hospital is now expected to be completed three years after a previous safety deadline for crumbling concrete, a new report has found.
There were fears parts of the hospital would become unusable in 2030 over risk of collapse from the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
The Airedale NHS Foundation Trust said it would remain “safe to remain open in the short-term”, however it added that there was “an urgent need to build the new hospital as quickly as possible”.
A National Audit Office report published yesterday estimated that Airedale's new hospital would be completed in 2033.
According to the NAO, an independent report in 2022 estimated 2030 as the latest possible replacement date for these buildings.
Trust chief executive Foluke Ajayi said: “As Airedale is one of seven hospitals with the highest amounts of RAAC, we have an urgent need to build the new hospital as quickly as possible.
“Our team of experts are currently looking at the best way to do this, with timelines under development.
“As highlighted in the report carried out by Mott Macdonald, Airedale Hospital is safe to remain open in the short-term, thanks to the extensive programme of Raac structural support work and surveying that we are carrying out.
“However, building a new hospital is the only permanent solution to ensure we can continue to provide care and services for people in the area the hospital serves.”
Both Airedale and the Leeds General Infirmary were earmarked for development under the Conservatives’ controversial New Hospital Programme.
They were two of 40 “new” hospitals which Mr Johnson claimed would be completed before 2030, ahead of the 2019 election.
A building housing a state-of-the-art adults hospital, a new children’s hospital and a maternity centre was due to be constructed on the site of Leeds General Infirmary costing more than £650m, when Mr Johnson announced the programme.
However, the current timetable will see the project completed by 2040, with a budget of up to £2bn.
The NAO described the new plan as “more realistic”, and said that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had prioritised Raac hospitals while ranking the remaining schemes based on deliverability, existing maintenance and safety risks, and affordability.
However it claims schemes were ultimately ranked based on how far advanced they are, and if DHSC could afford it within its spending review settlement.
Leeds Central and Headingley MP Alex Sobel said: “Leeds desperately needs a new children's Hospital and our adult hospital buildings on the LGI site like the Portland Building are now falling out of use as maintenance is too difficult. We just can’t wait until 2040 for a new hospital.”
A DHSC spokesperson said: “This report demonstrates this Government has put the New Hospital Programme on a stable long-term footing after inheriting a plan that was unfunded and undeliverable.
“We’ve confirmed a sustainable funding plan and an achievable timetable to deliver all schemes in the programme. We are now getting on with building these much-needed facilities as quickly as possible.
“We are backing the NHS with £1.6 billion across the next four years to safely remove and mitigate Raac to protect patient and staff safety and deliver a health service fit for the future.
“The NAO’s interpretation of the changing costs of the scheme is mistaken as this does not include the additional nine hospitals we are now building.”