Analysis of NHS Digital data shows that one in seven (15 per cent) hospital buildings in England were built before the foundation of the NHS in 1948. At some NHS trusts, a shocking two-thirds of all buildings are over 75 years old. The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to deliver a plan to upgrade outdated NHS buildings.

At Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London, two in three (66.7 per cent) buildings predate the NHS, a higher proportion than any other trust in the country. This was followed by Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals (65.5 per cent), Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (51.1 per cent), and Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust (49.5 per cent). Overall, 34 of 211 NHS trusts had at least one in four buildings that were built before 1948.

Many of the hospitals with large numbers of buildings over 75 years old have seen incidents of patient care being impacted by decaying infrastructure, say the Liberal Democrats. At St Helier Hospital in Sutton, the party notes, lifts have reportedly broken down three times a day and an intensive care unit was used as a storeroom as it was deemed unsafe for patients. Lynfield Mount Hospital in Bradford has seen sewage swell up through its bathroom sinks and onto the wards when it rains, the party adds.

The Liberal Democrats are demanding an urgent fund to improve hospital safety and have called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to act immediately. It follows recent figures showing the NHS repair backlog has now reached a record £12bn. Despite the shortfall, £1bn from the NHS capital budget has been used to cover day-to-day running costs.

Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP described the situation as a “national scandal”, adding that both patients and staff “deserve the dignity of safe, modern and clean hospitals”.

Contrary to this, she said, “this government has shamefully chosen to raid capital budgets for fixing crumbling buildings to plug the gap in day-to-day costs, while hospitals are literally falling apart. Rishi Sunak needs to get a grip and announce a plan to fix our crumbling hospital buildings. Patients should not have to pay the price for this Conservative Government’s chronic neglect of the health service.”

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, commented: “Far too many NHS buildings and equipment are in a very bad way and the situation is just getting worse year after year. The safety of patients and staff is at risk. NHS trusts have an £11bn-plus list of essential repairs waiting to be done and the backlog is mounting at an alarming rate.

“The eye-watering cost of trying to keep creaking buildings and out-of-date facilities going is soaring. We need a big injection of government investment so that mental health, community, hospital, and ambulance services can tackle significant risks to patients and staff.

“To be properly equipped to give people first-class care, the NHS needs safe, 21st-century buildings and facilities.”

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “The state of hospital and NHS buildings has an impact on patient safety, the care people receive, and staff morale. These figures will unfortunately be no surprise to health leaders and their teams who work in these old buildings and who tell us that parts of their estate are barely fit for the 19th century, let alone the 21st.

“This decline stems from more than a decade of underinvestment, with the essential maintenance backlog swelling to £11.6 billion. To address this, we need to invest vital capital funding to repair the NHS’ crumbling estates, as well as invest in the latest technology and equipment to provide the best care and environments we can for patients that are fit for a modern health service.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told The Guardian: “We’re investing record sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings, with £4.2bn invested last year alone, which has helped us achieve the biggest five-month fall in waiting lists in the past ten years.

“This is on top of expected investment of over £20bn for the New Hospital Programme – with four hospitals already open and another four due to follow this financial year, and a further £1.7bn for more than 70 hospital upgrades.”

The full analysis can be found here.