Hospital 'working to understand' review implications

A Surrey hospital made up of about 65% unstable concrete said it is "working to understand" what the government's review of plans for new hospitals will mean for its future.

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac) was first discovered at Frimley Park Hospital in 2012.

The hospital had been granted funding for a replacement building through the previous government’s New Hospital Programme in May 2023.

In order to plug a £22bn hole in public finances, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a review of the programme on Monday, among other measures.

A spokesperson for the trust which runs the hospital said it was "working closely" with partners "to understand more about what the review might mean for us".

The hospital was built in the 1970s and the trust previously said an "extensive programme of maintenance and repair" was in place at the hospital and a new site was being planned.

Following the announcement, the trust spokesperson said the chancellor’s statement had been noted, as well as that the government would continue to "deliver the most advanced and most urgent hospitals to a realistic timeframe".

They added: "Our work to build a new Frimley Park Hospital will continue to progress at pace, alongside our ongoing Raac maintenance works on the current site."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service previously reported that the current hospital has about 7,000 Raac planks in key areas such as operating theatres, intensive care units, wards and corridors.

The MP for Surrey Heath, Al Pinkerton, asked about the future of the hospital in Parliament on Monday, saying many residents and patients would be "deeply anxious" at the announcement.

Ms Reeves said she "fully understood" the concerns, and that the health secretary would meet with Mr Pinkerton and those affected to do what they could to "get hospitals in the condition that his constituents, and so many of our constituents, rightly expect".

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