Dealing with RAAC in the Estate
Ensuring safety
By the end of 2024/25, we will have spent nearly £30 million on surveys, safety inspections, and remedial works alone to keep our current site safe. Remedial RAAC work will continue throughout the new hospital build to ensure that patients, visitors and staff remain safe. RAAC is constantly monitored, and safety works are undertaken proactively, and reactively when necessary.
Limiting disruption
Since 2019, we’ve had a significant programme of works, approaching the high-risk areas initially (ICU and theatres) to ensure they were addressed. To try and limit the disruption we only worked on two theatres at a time.
Continual monitoring and response
Important to remember that despite all our efforts these works only have a 10-year life span, because RAAC will always deteriorate. We are doing the best we possibly can to mitigate while this hospital remains open. There is no permanent fix.
Frimley inpatient and diagnostic facility
The new £49m inpatient, diagnostic and imaging centre at Frimley Park build is well underway and is due to open in the New Year. This will provide an additional 74 inpatient beds across a combination of single rooms and bays, and there will also be a dedicated breast care diagnostic and outpatient unit. It will also provide much needed decant space to minimise disruption for patients during the ongoing programme of RAAC remedial work.