Hospitals: Concrete
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the risk of using hospital buildings containing RAAC beyond their maximum lifespan.
Answered by Karin Smyth
The Secretary of State has commissioned a comprehensive report into the seven predominantly RAAC hospitals being replaced through the New Hospital Programme, including Hinchingbrooke hospital. The last report was undertaken in Autumn 2022 and covered the five hospitals not at that time within the New Hospital Programme.
The site-by-site report on the seven predominantly RAAC hospitals will help inform individual development plans, which continue to progress at pace. The report objectives include assessing the clinical and operational impacts of the running of the existing hospital beyond the estimated life of the current hospital site or 2030, whichever is sooner.
Keeping capacity open but being scrupulous about RAAC monitoring and mitigation until the RAAC can be removed is fully in line with the current evidence and recommendations of the Institution of Structural Engineers.
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