Peterborough's hospital trust facing £7m high-risk repair backlog bill

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust is facing a high-risk repairs backlog of over £7m, according to new data released by NHS Digital.

The trust, which runs Peterborough City Hospital, Hinchingbrooke Hospital and Stamford and Rutland Hospital, is facing costs of £7,194,534, a 0.2 percent drop from the 2021/22 financial year.

This is for repairs defined as ones that must be urgently addressed to prevent catastrophic failure or major disruption to clinical services.

In total, the general acute hospital repairs backlogs at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust has risen 8.9 percent from £52,355,832 to £57,022,845 in the last financial year.

Of that figure, £55,637,168 is attributed to Hinchingbrooke Hospital and £1,385,677 to PCH.

Hinchingbrooke will be rebuilt by 2030 after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was found at the site.

It is one of five hospitals that has been prioritised as part of the government’s New Hospital Programme given the risks RAAC pose to patients and staff.

A spokesperson for North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Peterborough City Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital, said: “We recognise that the backlog is a direct result of RAAC at Hinchingbrooke Hospital.

"We are extremely pleased that we are part of the New Hospitals Programme that will see the development of a new hospital in 2030 and will eliminate backlog of maintenance at this site.”

In 2022-23, there were 137 “clinical service incidents caused by estates and infrastructure failure,” a drop compared to 242 such incidents in 2021-22.

Clinical service incidents are defined as those leading to “services being delayed, cancelled or otherwise interfered with owing to problems or failures related to the estates and infrastructure failure.”

An incident is “considered to be a delay of at least 30 minutes to clinical services affecting at least five patients or equivalent.”

Incidents include problems with electrical, water or ventilation systems, internal fabric and fixtures, roofs and structures, or lifts and hoists.