The 2022/23 ERIC data has been published and it will come as no surprise that backlog maintenance has risen by 13.6% since 2021/22 to a new record high of £11.6 billion. Also up are the costs of providing inpatient food (13.7%), cleaning services (10.3%) and the total costs of running the estate (12%). Total energy usage, however, decreased by 1.65%.
Responses to the figures:
“The cost and severity of maintenance issues with NHS buildings and equipment is still growing, with a maintenance backlog that has now risen to £11.6 billion. Promises to build new hospitals have not been realised, which has left parts of the NHS estate in such a poor condition they pose serious risks to staff and patients.
“The repeated raiding of long-term investment budgets to cover day-to-day spending is illustrative of the short-term thinking that has plagued NHS finances in recent years. The consequences of the government's earlier decisions to put off dealing with long-term problems are now being realised. Recent increases in the number of hospital staff have not yet translated into increased hospital activity, and outdated tech and dilapidated buildings are likely to be one factor limiting progress. The deteriorating state of NHS buildings and equipment is a shaky foundation that could undermine the government’s productivity drive.” Siva Anandaciva, Chief Analyst at The King’s Fund.
"The safety of patients and staff is at stake. To provide first-class care the NHS needs safe, efficient and reliable buildings, facilities and equipment.
"We learned too in October that more unsafe reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) had been found in more NHS sites. RAAC is a symptom of a far bigger and long-running problem.
"Many Trusts – mental health, community, hospital and ambulance services – need major investment to refurbish ageing buildings and tackle risks to the safety of patients and staff.
"We need the government to shift gear and inject a significant shot in the arm of capital investment in the NHS." Sir Julian Hartley, Chief Executive of NHS Providers.
“The growing cost of the high-risk maintenance needed to prevent catastrophic failures or major disruption to clinical services is particularly worrying, with capital budgets already being raided to plug the rising deficits in the day-to-day NHS budget caused by strike action and other cost pressures.
“NHS leaders have told us that increased capital spending is their priority for any new investment after the next election and underinvestment has been the number one issue holding back their progress towards greater productivity. The next government must boost capital funding to allow the service to address the maintenance backlog.” Rory Deighton, Director of the NHS Confederation’s Acute Network.
