Government recognises hospitals have been ‘left to crumble’ as maintenance bill grows

Jeff Moore/PA Wire

By Daniel Pye

In one year £2 billion was added to the maintenance backlog bill in England to fix crumbling hospitals, according to NHS figures.

There has been a steady increase in the amount of money needed to fix buildings in the NHS estate year-on-year since 2013/2014. The number rose sharply in the first year of the pandemic and now stands at £13.8 billion – which health policy think tank The Kings Fund says exceeds the entire capital budget of £11.8 billion for the financial year.