The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Essex has been plagued by problems with its aging buildings and equipment in recent years.

It has had regular difficulties with flooding and sewage leaks at the site, dating back to the 1960s.

Patients slipping on flooded floors, smelling of faeces, faeces filling A&Es and leaking on wards and operating theater areas, posing risks to patients and staff alike.

Along with broken equipment and other building-related problems, this leads to so-called “infrastructure” incidents occurring up to three times a week, according to official NHS data analyzed by the Liberal Democrats.

Over the summer, two of the main operating theaters were out of action, disrupting care for patients requiring hip and knee surgery.

“We were unable to get ventilation parts. We were unable to get light fittings,” hospital chief operating officer Stephanie Lawton told the BBC.

“It took us several weeks to repair those cinemas. The infrastructure is quite old now – it is very difficult to maintain.”

It shouldn’t have been this way. Back in September 2019, there was jubilation at the hospital when it was announced at the Conservative Party conference that a new hospital would replace the existing one.

Hospital bosses were predicting doors on the new site would open soon, opening in 2024 as Boris Johnson promised England 40 new hospitals in his 2019 election manifesto, including upgrades to existing sites.

But the planned 2023 finish date for the Princess Alexandra was slipped to 2030 – and this week it became One of the 18 hospitals there has been told rebuilding will be delayed even further In an announcement on Monday that largely slipped under the radar as attention focused on the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president.

Construction work on the Princess Alexandra will now not begin until 2032 at the earliest. Meanwhile, the hospital has no choice but to limp along.

Ms Lawton says the hospital is spending £9m a year maintaining and repairing the current property.

“The staff work every single day to give excellent care to our patients and to work within a hospital that is so old and broken down is very frustrating for them,” she says.

Torbay Hospital, one of the oldest in the NHS dating back to the 1920s, and Leeds General Infirmary have both also reported problems with sewage leaks and flooding and are in the same situation.

Others have been put back even further, with a number reporting it could be the late 2030s before work can begin.

Bosses at St Mary’s Hospital in London, which have been given a possible opening date of 2035 to 2038, It warned the possibility of closing parts of the property due to patient safety concerns was “increasing by the day”. As for power supply, heating and water cannot be guaranteed.

“We are now providing care in some buildings that are over 180 years old,” chief executive Professor Tim Orchard told the BBC.

Meanwhile, Sam Higginson, chief executive of the Royal Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, says he is “deeply disappointed” that the redevelopment of his North Devon District Hospital may have to wait until 2038.

“For us it’s too far in the future,” he says. “There’s a limit to how long we can run that infrastructure and we’re right at that limit.”

He says he will seek money from NHS England and the government to try to keep operating theaters and A&E running as best they can, warning otherwise they will have to deal with hospital waiting lists. The drive can be hit for.

The government has said it is committed to the projects. But, as they will all now slip into the next Parliament and, thus, there is no money yet to cover the costs, there is real concern behind the scenes as to whether this timetable can even be kept.

“They’ve kicked us all into the long grass,” says NHS leader. “A commitment to do something in 10 years’ time is almost meaningless.”

Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS confederation, which represents hospitals, says he understands such concerns, adding: “They feel that.”

And he says the government will need to take account of how NHS leaders have dealt with their dilapidated estates in order to recognize their performance in the years to come.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has laid the blame at the door of the Tories, accusing them of leaving an “unfunded and untested” hospital building program in order to take over.

This has been disputed by the Tories, who accused Labor of breaking promises and simply deciding not to prioritize the plans.

The Liberal Democrats believe both sides have a case to answer. Health and Care spokeswoman Helen Morgan says the public had been led down the “garden path” by the Tories, while accusing Labor of “shaming and labeling” Labor and treating those affected with “complete disrespect”. Those who try to bury the news of the day: Trump’s inauguration.

Despite the arguments that took place in Parliament, what is certainly clear is that the problems had been going on for many years.

In spring 2023, The BBC revealed that building work had not yet started on 33 of the 40 hospitals,

and later that year National Audit Office (NAO) warned The target of 40 new hospitals by the 2030 target date was likely to be missed.

The watchdog pointed to a number of factors, including delays by the government in signing off on plans, slow engagement of the construction industry and problems recruiting key staff to work on the national team, the latter of which was partly caused by the pandemic. There was a reason.

The timeline was further complicated by the need to prioritize other hospitals for work, with five being used. Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) which has major safety concerns Collapsing concrete inside buildings. This brought the total number of projects to 46 – five of which have now ended.

But Shiva Anandakiva of the King’s Fund health think-tank says the problems run much deeper than these 18 delayed projects – and others that have already been finished, started or approved for this decade. .

He points out that the backlog in repairs and maintenance across the NHS has been growing for years as capital spending budgets for buildings and equipment have been squeezed.

“The scale of the NHS estate is much broader than the rebuilding of the new hospital programme,” he says.

“The majority of the mental health estate is the oldest within the NHS and is estimated to pre-date the five GP premises when the NHS was formed in 1948.”

This lack of investment, he argues, is a “false economy” because it leads to poor patient care and hampers NHS productivity.

But it is not just healthcare that is affected. A report published by the NAO this week Other parts of the public sector are also affected, with school, court and prison buildings all struggling with maintenance backlogs.

Sewage leaks and equipment failure at the likes of Princess Alexandra Hospital and other sites awaiting reconstruction are just the tip of the iceberg it seems.

Data Visualization by Hannah Karpel