Broken lifts, leaks, sinking floors, holes in the ceiling and cracked walls – this is the reality of an NHS hospital.
Disturbing images have revealed the dire state of St Helier’s Hospital in south London, which is said to be “literally collapsing”.
Clips released as part of an ITV investigation show “leaks so severe they are overflowing and closing corridors”, carpenters working under water-filled sheets and broken doors held open by rubbish bins.
Some wards at the hospital have become so unsafe that they have been closed, and a former intensive care unit is being used as a storage room due to a faulty ventilation system.
DR Pauline Swift, a consultant working at the hospital, said: “I feel the NHS is held together by fresh paint and plywood.
Disturbing images have revealed the dire state of south London’s St Helier Hospital, which is said to be “literally collapsing”.
Some infirmaries have become so unsafe that they have been closed (pictured) and a former intensive care unit is being used as a storage room due to a faulty ventilation system
“There are leaks, many, many leaks. Paint shell off the wall. It looks a lot like a makeshift shack.’
She added that staff are concerned that patients may be concerned about what kind of care they receive in circumstances that are “not appropriate, not now, never”.
But Dr Swift stressed the level of care was “of the highest quality”.
And this is not a problem of a single hospital.
Half of the trusts that responded to the survey said they had at least one unresolved structural or maintenance issue.
READ MORE: Britain’s crumbling NHS: SEWAGE seeping into cancer wards, maternity wards and A&Es, shock audit reveals
North Tees University Hospital said the building is not fit for purpose and “raises significant safety concerns for our staff and patients”.
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary claimed there was “potential for rockfall” on its site, while Liverpool’s Walton Center said the leaks had gone unsolved for eight years.
And Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn is “supported by 61 temporary supports”, while Torbay Hospital has significant structural flaws in the concrete floors over two operating theatres.
At Croydon University Hospital, a patient was so shocked by ward conditions, including a tree growing through a bathroom window and no heating on the wards, that she made videos.
Sarah Hills said: “My nose froze and it was bitter. They brought down a portable heater filled with oil that was next to my bed. That was it for an entire department.
“I looked at the ceiling over my head and it cracked.”
Ms Hills added that staff were forced to work in “such poor conditions” and her “heart bled for them”.
ITV found that many NHS doctors feel maintenance issues are downplayed and even hidden, but are too afraid to speak out for fear of repercussions.
This is not an issue affecting just one hospital, as 50 per cent of trusts that responded to the survey said they had at least one unresolved structural or maintenance issue
Clips released as part of an ITV investigation show “leaks so bad they’re flooding and closing corridors”, carpenters working under wet sheets and broken doors being held open by rubbish bins (pictured).
A paramedic said anonymously: “I feel like we always hope the next time something happens, it’s nothing catastrophic.”
And another, also anonymous, said: “I had to push a critically ill patient by effectively dropping water and wetting both myself and the patient.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said hospitals are receiving record amounts of funding to repair and maintain their buildings.
Numerous factors, including delays in government plans for new hospitals, are to blame for the UK’s crumbling hospitals.
Elliot Colburn, Tory MP, said: “The images we have seen of St Helier Hospital are indeed shocking.
NHS staff should not have to put up with working in these conditions and patients deserve better.
“This is exactly why we need the investment the Government has promised to put into the NHS Trust, which will enable St Helier not only to solve these problems and improve its facilities, but also to provide a to have a second brand new hospital to build in the area. .
“It’s time for the bureaucracy to get out of the way so the NHS can make these improvements.”
Labour’s failed private finance initiatives (PFIs), which were extended to the NHS when it was last in power, were also blamed.
Under PFI programs, private companies paid for the construction of new hospitals with trust funds, which they paid back with interest over 30 or more years. Hospitals currently pay out more than £2bn a year under the deal.
The trusts also agreed to pay companies to maintain the properties, meaning companies could charge exorbitant amounts because there could be no competition.
Foundations often pay a lump sum for maintenance – meaning that if they don’t have much to do for a year, every single job becomes very expensive.
This has seen foundations spend up to £13,000 to install lighting in a garden, more than £8,000 to install a dishwasher and almost £1,000 to build and fit a TV cabinet.
Experts have warned PFI-funded hospitals are a “huge drain” on NHS trusts’ budgets.
Think tanks have calculated that up to £1 in every £6 of the trusts’ budget is spent on the PFI’s ‘toxic’ legacy – leaving little to invest in building it up.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
