Stepping Hill Hospital is 'literally crumbling', says local MP (Image: Getty Images)
A UK Hopital is in dire straits as its outpatient clinics, radiology department and intensive care unit are “quite literally crumbling”, according to the local MP.
Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchesterhas been hit by two ceiling collapses in recent weeks due to leaks in the heating system.
These incidents took place in the radiology department and in the intensive care unit, where the most seriously ill patients are treated.
The situation became so serious that patients had to be evacuated and scans canceled after both ceilings collapsed within a day in March, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Patients were forced to leave Stockport Hospital and scans canceled after the two ceilings collapsed within a day of each other in March (Image: MEN)
Stockport MP Navendu Mishra brought the issue to the attention of the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a Prime Minister's Questions session on May 8.
“The large Stepping Hill outpatient building, the radiology department and the intensive care unit have all been condemned,” Mr Mishra told the House of Commons.
'In March I met with senior officials at Stockport NHS Trust, they were very clear that a continued lack of capital investment is the root cause of the problems at my local hospital.”
Mr Mishra challenged the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, asking: “Mr Speaker, does the Prime Minister believe that the literal crumbling of our hospitals is the price we have to pay for the Conservatives' fourteen years of successive failures?”
Navendu Mishra raised the issue in Parliament (Image: Getty)
The Prime Minister responded: “We fully recognize the need to invest in health infrastructure across the country, including at Stepping Hill Hospital.
“That is why we are currently spending around £4 billion a year on trusts to spend on essential maintenance and repairs, on top of the £20 billion new hospital program and the additional funding set aside to tackle RAAC – reinforced, autoclaved aerated concrete – maintenance.
“The honorable gentleman is talking about a legacy of the NHS; all he has to do is look at his party's record in Wales, where people are currently experiencing the worst AandE performance and the longest waiting times in the whole of Britain.”
Stepping Hill Hospital faces challenges due to deteriorating infrastructure. In fact, it had already suffered two ceiling collapses after being forced to close its Outpatient Clinic B unit in November last year, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport. (Image: Getty)
This was due to “significant deterioration of the building's structure”, based on inspectors' reports.
The outpatient clinic is now functioning below optimal levels and only provides 51 percent of the usual outpatient appointments. The services, which previously took place in the Outpatient B department, now function at a lower capacity than before.
“A small number of services, including ophthalmology, continue to find temporary accommodation due to the need to accommodate large equipment that is not easy to move,” Karen James, CEO of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, told the board meeting. in April.
She also added: “Our estate team is prioritizing efforts to find alternative accommodation for these services, as well as permanent homes for the others, as we move forward with the demolition of Outpatient Clinic B.”
Stepping Hill “crumbles” (Image: Getty)
The first incident occurred on March 4, when the ceiling in the radiology department partially collapsed due to a leak, forcing the cancellation of several procedures.
The hospital trust did not reveal how many appointments were involved, according to the Guardian report.
The next day, another collapse occurred in the intensive care unit, which treats critically ill patients receiving intensive care. Quick action was needed to evacuate the 13-bed unit and ensure patient safety.
The evacuated patients were initially cared for in some of Stepping Hill's 20 operating theatres, and some were later transferred to a nearby hospital while repairs were carried out, according to another Guardian report.
Ms James informed the board that in addition to the closure of the outpatient clinic, “we have also experienced unexpected and unrelated ceiling collapses in our intensive care unit and radiology department, due to leaks from the heating system”.
She further stated: “The intensive care unit had to be evacuated, but thanks to the quick action of our staff, no patients were harmed. The leak in the radiology department did result in some appointments being cancelled.”
The CEO also warned that “real estate issues are increasingly impacting our services… we are likely to experience more business continuity issues as a result of our aging buildings.”
Ms James hinted that carrying out the repairs could be a challenge as the trust 'will need to be realistic about the amount of capital funding that is likely to be available in 2024-2025 to maintain the current hospital buildings'.
Stepping Hill is desperate for additional funding to repair the deteriorating parts of the hospital, including by applying to become one of 40 'new hospitals' that the then Prime Minister promised in 2019 to build by 2030 will build. However, that application was rejected. .
A spokesperson for Stockport NHS Trust said: “Leaks are relatively common across a large and diverse estate, comprising various old buildings, infrastructure and condition. We inspect the estate regularly to gauge its condition and help us target investment. It is common for minor repairs to turn into larger, more complex works, up to and including roof replacement.”