Sewage leaks and ops delayed - life at hospitals awaiting rebuild

The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Essex has been plagued by problems with its ageing buildings and equipment in recent years.

It has regular difficulties with floods and sewage leaks across its site, which dates back to the 1960s.

There have been reports of patients slipping on flooded floors, foul smells of faeces filling A&E and leaks on wards and in the operating theatre areas, posing a risk to patients and staff alike.

Along with broken equipment and other building-related problems, it leads to so-called "infrastructure" incidents occurring three times a week on average, according to official NHS data analysed by the Liberal Democrats.

Over the summer, two of the main operating theatres were out of action, disrupting care for patients needing hip and knee surgery.

"We were unable to get the ventilation parts. We were unable to get the light fittings," hospital chief operating officer Stephanie Lawton told the BBC.

"It took us several weeks to get those theatres repaired. The infrastructure is quite old now - it's very difficult to maintain."

Back in September 2019, there was delight at the hospital when it was announced at the Conservative party conference that a new hospital would replace the existing one. Hospital bosses were soon predicting the doors at the new site would open in 2024 as Boris Johnson promised England 40 new hospitals, including upgrades of existing sites, in his 2019 election manifesto.

But by 2023 the planned finish date for Princess Alexandra had slipped to 2030 - and this week it became one of 18 hospitals to be told there rebuilds would be delayed even further.

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Source: BBC News, 25 January 2025