UNIPA News(London) 05 July-— A parliamentary committee has warned that delays in replacing hospitals built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) are increasing safety risks for patients and staff, while leaving the government exposed to rising costs and potential further setbacks in its hospital rebuilding programme.
In a report on the New Hospital Programme (NHP), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) called for the government to publish an annual report to Parliament detailing progress on replacing RAAC hospitals, including project delays, cost increases and the impact of any timetable slippages on patient and staff safety.
RAAC, a lightweight construction material used in public buildings during the post-war period, is vulnerable to structural failure. An independent review in 2022 recommended that all RAAC hospitals should be replaced by 2030. However, the government’s revised timetable now schedules the completion of the final replacement projects by 2033.
The committee noted that while a 2025 assessment concluded RAAC hospitals could continue operating beyond 2030, doing so would involve significant financial costs and ongoing safety risks.
According to the report, the government has already spent around £500 million on maintenance and mitigation measures to keep affected hospitals safe, with an additional £440 million allocated for NHS trusts managing RAAC buildings. Despite these investments, the committee said maintenance cannot fully eliminate the risks because between one and six percent of RAAC planks in each affected hospital remain inaccessible for inspection or repair.
The PAC also expressed concern that the wider New Hospital Programme could face further delays due to limited contingency funding. The government plans to spend £8.9 billion on the programme through 2029-30, but has allocated contingency funding equivalent to only three percent of total planned expenditure, compared with an overall programme contingency of 21 percent.
The report warned that unexpected construction cost increases could significantly disrupt project schedules, delaying the delivery of additional hospitals planned under the programme.
Committee members also questioned aspects of the proposed Hospital 2.0 design, which features wards consisting entirely of single-patient rooms. While the Department of Health and Social Care expects the design to reduce infections and shorten hospital stays, the committee said insufficient attention has been given to potential drawbacks.
Evidence presented during the inquiry suggested that frail and vulnerable patients could experience increased isolation in single rooms, while NHS providers raised concerns about higher operating costs. NHS England also acknowledged that staff may initially find it more difficult to monitor patients housed in individual rooms, potentially requiring additional staffing and digital monitoring systems during the transition period.
The PAC urged the government to provide evidence demonstrating that the new hospital design will deliver measurable benefits for patients and recommended an independent evaluation after the first hospitals become operational.
The committee also questioned plans to increase hospital bed capacity by six percent despite government commitments to expand community-based healthcare services. It called on the Department of Health and Social Care to justify the planned size of each new hospital and explain how projected growth in community care has been reflected in decisions on bed numbers.
Commenting on the findings, Public Accounts Committee Chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said every year of delay in replacing RAAC hospitals represents “borrowed time” that increases risks for patients and staff while imposing additional costs on taxpayers.
He also warned that the programme remains vulnerable to further delays because of insufficient contingency funding and said the government should provide regular updates to Parliament on progress in eliminating RAAC from the NHS estate.
