Almost £15 million is needed to restore crumbling buildings to full working order at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT), new figures show.

The latest NHS Digital figures show £14.2m is needed to restore buildings at the trust to certain standards as of March.

This work should have already taken place, and covers everything from leaky gutters and faulty lifts to critical electrical and structural issues in hospital buildings.

It does not include planned maintenance due to be undertaken.

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However, none of this is required to fix high-risk issues, which NHS reports say must be addressed with urgent priority to prevent catastrophic failure, major disruption to clinical services, or safety deficiencies liable to cause serious injury.

Abigail Harrison, chief digital and infrastructure officer, at the trust, said “The safety and experience of our patients and colleagues is our number one priority.

"We regularly review the condition of our buildings and ensure we have a rolling programme of maintenance, replacement and repairs.

“We do not currently have any high-risk backlog maintenance across our large estate, which reduced significantly in the last year.

"The cost detailed in the report represents a programme of work that we will carry out over the next 10 to 15 years.”

Across England, a growing number of buildings are in a poor state, with the repair bill climbing to £11.6 billion last year.

Nationally, the maintenance backlog rose by more than 13 per cent in 2023, including £2.4bn earmarked to eradicate the high-risk backlog.

Chief executive of NHS Providers, Sir Julian Hartley, said: “The cost of trying to patch up creaking buildings and out-of-date facilities is rocketing.

"Far too many NHS buildings and equipment are in a very bad way, and the situation is just getting worse.

“The safety of patients and staff is at stake. To provide first-class care, the NHS needs sae, efficient, and reliable buildings, facilities, and equipment.”

In October, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed 42 sites have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) and must be repaired, but none of these were at LSCFT.

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A DHSC spokesperson said: "We have invested significant sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings so staff have the facilities needed to provide world-class care for patients, including £4.2 billion this financial year.

"Trusts are responsible for prioritising this funding to maintain and refurbish their premises, including the renewal and replacement of equipment.

"This is on top of the £3.7 billion made available for the first four years of the New Hospital Programme and a further £1.7 billion for over 70 hospital upgrades across England alongside a range of nationally-funded infrastructure improvements in mental health, urgent and emergency care and diagnostic capacity."

Figures also showed £46.4m was needed to restore buildings at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

ELHT has been approached for comment.