Raac: The 42 hospitals confirmed to be affected by unsafe concrete
Dangerous concrete has been found in 42 hospitals in England, according to a list published by The Department of Health on Thursday.
The government department identified the establishments as being built using the potentially dangerous, lightweight, building material known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).
Described to ITV News by one hospital boss as “a ticking timebomb”, this type of concrete is lightweight and cheaper than traditional concrete was used in construction between the 1960s and 1980s.
But it has now passed its life expectancy of 30-years and is more likely to collapse.
Sites confirmed with Raac join a national programme to remove it from buildings, regardless of the extent to which the concrete is present on the estate or whether it’s in clinical or non-clinical space.
Three sites - Bassetlaw District General Hospital, Oval Depot and Kidderminster Hospital Treatment Centre - have entirely eradicated previously confirmed instances of Raac and have therefore left the programme.
Meanwhile, the seven hospitals which are most affected by Raac are due to have their buildings fully replaced by 2030.
In an exclusive, ITV News' Investigations Correspondent Dan Hewitt previously reported on the shocking structural failures at NHS hospitals across the country
Full published list of hospitals impacted by Raac as of October 17:
North East and Yorkshire
Airedale General Hospital - to be replacedScarborough General Hospital Harrogate HospitalUniversity Hospital of North Tees James Cook HospitalScunthorpe General Hospital Barnsley Hospital
North West
Blackpool Victoria Hospital Countess of Chester HospitalUniversity Hospital AintreeLeighton Hosptial - to be replacedStepping Hill Hospital North Manchester General Wythenshawe HospitalSalford Royal Hospital The Royal Oldham Hospital Royal Blackburn HospitalClatterbridge Hospital
South East
Frimley Park Hospital - to be replacedSouthampton General HospitalChurchill Hospital St. Marys Community Hospital St Richard's HospitalMedway Maritime HospitalGuildford Hospital
South West
North Devon District Hospital Derriford Hospital
East
James Paget Hospital- to be replaced Broomfield Hospital The Queen Elizabeth Hospital - to be replaced West Suffolk Hospital - to be replaced Hinchingbrooke Hospital - to be replaced Stamford and Rutland Hospital North Cambridgeshire Hospital - WisbechNorwich Community Hospital
Midlands Haywood Hospital The Princess Royal Hospital Russells Hall
London Royal Free Hospital Homerton University Hospital University Hospital Lewisham Chase Farm Hospital
Are hospitals safe to be open following the identification of Raac?
Where possible Raac is identified, visual inspections and structural surveys take place to verify its presence and level of risk.
Once the presence of the concrete is confirmed, trusts join the national programme, which programme supports mitigation, remediation and wider planning to maintain safety.
This helps keep hospital capacity open while carefully monitoring and mitigating Raac until it can be removed is fully in line with current evidence and recommendations.
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