Yorkshire hospitals' decades-old equipment is 'putting patients at risk'
NHS patients in some parts of Yorkshire are having to use beds and X-ray machines that are more than 20 years old, which the Lib Dems say is putting them “at risk”.
Hospitals have been using artificial intelligence to cut waiting times this winter, however freedom of information requests have shown that other pieces of kit are desperately in need of upgrading.
According to data uncovered by the Liberal Democrats, some 1,685 hospital beds in Yorkshire and the Humber are more than a decade old, while 103 X-ray machines are also over 10 years old.
Of those beds, 59 are more than 20 years old and there are nine X-ray machines in use that have been in place for at least two decades.
In particular, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust and Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are hit badly with old beds.
While Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust are still using old X-ray machines.
There are also six MRI machines and one radiotherapy machine that are more than 10 years old in the region.
This comes despite advice from NHS England that CT and MRI scanners and X-ray machines should be replaced every 10 years to ensure they continue to operate reliably and produce clear images.
On top of that, some Yorkshire trusts are using computer operating systems that date back more than 20 years.
Two trusts in the region have had new hospital buildings delayed, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting saying the previous government left no money for the projects.
A building housing a state-of-the-art adults hospital, a new children’s hospital and a maternity centre is due to be constructed on the site of Leeds General Infirmary, with work starting in 2034.
A complete rebuild had been ordered for Airedale General Hospital by 2030, which was found to be at risk of collapse due to its construction with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
The Liberal Democrats, who requested the new FoIs, are calling for a dedicated crumbling hospitals taskforce that would drive a 10-year capital investment programme across the NHS.
The party says this would repair crumbling hospital and GP buildings and invest in new hospital machines and equipment.
Health spokesperson Helen Morgan said: “It is a scandal that life-saving diagnoses are being left to machines that may be older than the staff operating them.
“Our patients are being put at risk by ancient and unreliable equipment, whilst our hard-working staff are being pushed to breaking point.
“The potential for error from poor quality machines doesn’t bear thinking about. No one should have to worry about whether they will get an accurate reading from decade old equipment.
“Patients deserve better. That is why we’re calling for a new investment programme, overseen by a dedicated Crumbling Hospitals Taskforce.
“This would replace knackered machines, and repair sinking floors and crumbling roofs that have become so prevalent in our NHS.”
Mr Streeting has pledged to bring in three major shifts for the NHS amid a raft of reforms - moving it from analogue to digital, the hospital to the community and from treatment to prevention.
However, the health service has been embattled over the winter with resident doctor strikes and a rampaging flu epidemic.
An A&E forecasting tool, using AI, is pinpointing when demand will be high, allowing trusts to better plan for shifts and bed space.
Officials said the technology allows healthcare staff “to do the things that they’re trained to do, rather than having to be bound down by bureaucratic processes”.
The forecasting tool is trained on historic data, including weather trends, to determine how many people are likely to visit A&E.
A government spokesperson said: “This government inherited an NHS that was broken by over a decade of damage at the hands of both the Tories and the Lib Dems.
“We're working hard to rebuild it and create an NHS that is fit for the future.
“We are providing tens of billions of pounds of funding to repair hospital estates and bring in new equipment.
“We have already delivered new state-of-the-art DEXA scanners which are providing 29,000 additional bone scans per year and £70m to replace radiotherapy machines with cutting-edge technology speeding up treatment for thousands of cancer patients.
“This year we are investing £1.65bn to deliver new surgical hubs, diagnostic scanners and beds for over 30,000 additional procedures and more than 1.25m diagnostic tests.”