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NHS maintenance backlog approaches £4 billion
NHS trusts are struggling with nearly £4 billion of unfixed repair work, according to data obtained by the Conservatives.
The figures were revealed in response to a written question by Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. They show that the backlog for 2006-7 was at its highest level since Labour came to power.
'The truth is that the NHS surplus, which the government enjoys boasting about, is a sham,' he told Hospital Doctor magazine. 'Public health budgets, education and training budgets and now the basic maintenance and upkeep of our hospitals have been laundered to produce this surplus.'
In response to the revelation, the Department of Health said that the repair work came under a different budget to the revenue figures used to calculate the NHS surplus, which was announced as £510 million for the last financial year.
Health Minister Ben Bradshaw also told BBC News that sometimes low priority maintenance work was backlogged 'to prevent disruption to patient services' and that 'it would be irresponsible to disrupt patient services to resolve them.'
However, the Guardian points out that a backlog of maintenance work was noted as part of the investigation into the superbug outbreak in Kent.
The Healthcare Commission report into the outbreak stated: 'There was a history of underinvestment in the fabric of the buildings. In 2006 the backlog of maintenance was estimated to be nearly £3 million for Maidstone Hospital alone, and £52 million for the trust.'
Category: Healthcare
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