Leeds General Infirmary roof repairs could cost millions

An NHS trust faces a repair bill worth millions of pounds after storms caused damage to a hospital wing in Leeds.

New roofing will be installed at the Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) Brotherton Wing after leaks forced staff to use containers to catch water.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTH) said patients were moved to other parts of the hospital after weather damage caused a safety risk.

An initial estimate for the cost of repairs was put at £7m.

Craige Richardson, LTH director of estates and facilities, said the safety of patients and staff was the trust's "main priority".

"The trust, like many organisations across the NHS, has a significant maintenance backlog, with large parts of the LGI site spanning as far back as Victorian times," he said.

"There have been a number of modifications made to the building over time to maintain it, but the extremely bad weather at the end of last year has had a significant impact and caused it to deteriorate."

The repair spending was agreed at a meeting of the trust's board on Thursday, with temporary arrangements in place to make the building safe.

Mr Richardson said he expected the final cost to be lower than the initial estimate.

Modernisation plans drawn up for LGI include a new home for Leeds Children's Hospital, a new adults' hospital and one of the biggest single-site maternity centres in the UK, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Proposals for a expansion of Chapel Allerton Hospital to cut waiting times in the city have been shelved after the government withdrew funding.

But LTH said funding was still in place for the LGI plan.

Mr Richardson added: "The project is fully funded by the government and we are currently awaiting the go-ahead from the new hospital programme to start construction."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]