Sheffield hospitals face £190m repair backlog - statement from NHS bosses in full
“Patient, staff and visitor safety is not compromised by this backlog, and it is not causing delays to patient care”
The NHS insists that there is no “immediate risk to patient care” despite a £190 million repair backlog for Sheffield’s hospitals.
NHS figures published this month reveal a rising repair bill for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Liberal Democrat councillor Sophie Crossthorn has voiced her concerns and called upon Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, to urgently address the matter.
She claims that £63 million of the backlog, a third of the total, is rated a high or significant risk.
Her party claims that nationally the NHS repair backlog has has grown by £3.5 billion since Labour took power in July 2024, from £13.8 billion in the last figures before the election to £17.3 billion now.
“The NHS is there for all of us,” Coun Crossthorn, the Sheffield Lib Dem spokesperson for Health and Social Care, said.
“Almost everyone in Sheffield has sat in a hospital waiting room, worried about someone they love. In that moment, you need to know the place caring for them is fit for the job.
"It’s not fair on our doctors and nurses to have to work in conditions that need fixing. It’s not fair on patients too.
"Labour were elected promising to fix the NHS. Instead, we've watched the repair bill grow by billions. £190 million of repairs here in Sheffield is the price of years of under-investment, and it keeps growing.”
However, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust stresses that “patient, staff and visitor safety is not compromised” by the repair backlog and that buildings or areas in need of clinical use are prioritised as bosses work to manage “one of the largest NHS estates in the country”.
Carl Henniker, director of estates at the trust, added: “The £190 million figure is not a list of repairs that are required immediately, nor does it represent an immediate risk to patient care.
“It is an estimated cost of addressing all identified backlog maintenance across one of the largest NHS estates in the country, including buildings and areas that are not directly used for patient care, such as storage facilities, vacant accommodation and buildings that may be redeveloped in the future.”
He added: “Patient, staff and visitor safety is not compromised by this backlog, and it is not causing delays to patient care.
“Any maintenance issues identified as a higher level of risk are actively managed through ongoing maintenance programmes, inspection regimes and targeted investment.
“Clinical environments are prioritised for maintenance and investment, and areas used for patient care are regularly assessed to ensure they remain safe, compliant and fit for purpose.”