Hospitals: Concrete
(asked on 4th September 2023) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospitals were built using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
As of 17 October 2023, there are 42 hospital sites with confirmed reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Of these, 18 have been identified since May 2023 following updated monitoring guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers. The Department has published a full list of hospitals with confirmed RAAC, which is available at the following link:
In most identified cases, RAAC has been found in limited parts of a hospital site or an individual building. The National Health Service has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with RAAC, including significant additional funding worth £698 million from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures. In addition, in May 2023 the Government announced that the seven most affected hospitals would be replaced by 2030 through the New Hospital Programme.
Where structural surveys identify RAAC in their estate, trusts are inducted into the national remediation programme. Each site will be different, and just because RAAC is present, it does not necessarily mean there is a high risk.