Dozens more hospitals feared to be riddled with RAAC - as NHS rows back on target of eliminating...
Daily Mail NHS chiefs today backtracked on a pledge to eradicate'aero bar' concrete from all hospitals by 2035 after admitting dozens more hospitals could be affected by the crisis than previously thought.
The Government has committed to eradicate reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) which is prone to collapse from the NHSestate by 2035.
Officials have confirmed that this would involve work at 41 buildings across 23 NHS trusts where the material is present, including seven hospitals with RAAC present throughout.
But health chiefs admitted to MPs today that 'tens' more buildings were currently undergoing checks over fears they are also riddled with the material.
As a result,they didn't 'want to absolutely say' when the work would be completed by.
Addressing the Public Accounts Committee today, NHS chief financial officer Julian Kelly said that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had been working with the NHS on RAAC since 2019.
But he refused to specify how many new NHS sites were being checked for RAAC since a National Audit Office (NAO) report in July identified that 41 were affected.
