£1.26bn funding call to update and remove concrete safety risk from Frimley Park Hospital

Calls to government for £1.26bn in funding for a new Frimley Park Hospital have been made by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust to create a new net zero facility as well as remove the risk from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) used in the existing hospital’s roof, which is considered unsafe by NHS England and Improvement (NHSE&I).

RAAC is a form of lightweight concrete, developed to speed up the manufacturing process of precast concrete units. The collapse of a roof in a school in Essex and reports of other damaged structures built using this concrete type, has led to RAAC being associated with increased safety risk.

In August last year, NCE highlighted the safety risk from RAAC and former NCE editor Ty Byrd compared the problem with high alumina cement issues in the 1960s.

The call for funding for Frimley Park Hospital follows a directive from the NHSE&I for the removal of all structures built using RAAC from the NHS estate by 2035.

With RAAC plank in Frimley Park Hospital’s roof, the trust requested funding of £1.26bn from the Department of Health and Social Care to build a new hospital within the next 10 years.

“We are also developing plans for a phased redevelopment across the site over the next decade as an alternative to a complete rebuild,” the Trust’s chief executive Neil Dardis wrote in a report presented to the board of directors on 14 January.

The same report highlighted that RAAC planks will deteriorate over time and outlined ways that the deterioration could be exacerbated, including: softening of roof RAAC planks from water pooling in gutters and leaking roofs; damage caused from excess weight on the roof due to the installation of new plant and equipment or existing plant and other objects with excess weight, people walking on the roof, or snow and ice.

The Trust has already put measures in place to protect the structure. Roof covers have been placed to prevent RAAC deterioration due to water, while repair, reinforcement and propping of RAAC planks is continuously carried out in areas of high risk.

RAAC was also used for the construction of other buildings on site that will also be rebuilt. “Contractors are currently on site from this month to complete the demolition of the former accommodation and office blocks at the back of Frimley Park, which include RAAC structures,” Dardis said.

Apart from improved safety, the Trust says the new hospital will offer patients a better experience, through improved facilities and more operating theatres, and will be more energy efficient.

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