A STAGGERING £288m is needed to clear a mounting repair backlog at a Teesside health trust.

Bosses at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS trust have repeatedly warned its Hardwick hospital site is crumbling – with ageing infrastructure hampering health teams.

Calls for a new Stockton hospital have grown ever louder as ceiling panels fell away and pipes froze during last winter’s Covid surge.

NHS figures show the University Hospital of North Tees had a “high risk” repair backlog of £1.1m in 2019/20.

But trust officials say the full cost to eradicate the maintenance list across all the trust’s sites – including Hartlepool hospital – will cost almost £300m to clear.

Trust chief executive Julie Gillon said: “We have a clear and urgent need for a new hospital site.

“While we are on track to meet the high risk backlog work for next year, the overall long-term picture is less certain.

“The full cost to eradicate the backlog maintenance across all hospital sites will push circa £288m. This will be supported by an independent report which will be published shortly.

“To help ensure we are fit for the future, we are looking to source external funding through the Health Infrastructure Programme.

“Our staff and our community deserve the very best – and in order to continue delivering world class healthcare, we need a new hospital site.”

Virus patients had to be treated in operating theatres due to lack of room at North Tees last winter.

Teams regularly deal with ceiling leaks during heavy rain.

A worker had to stand with a hose to stop oxygen pipes from freezing earlier this year.

It is costing £8m just to keep North Tees in its current condition.

Last month, trust leaders told the BBC the site only had ten years left before it needed replacing.

It is understood the north wing, south wing, and seven floor tower block at the hospital will reach the end of the next ten years.

This is behind the ten huge nine-figure bill facing the trust.

Figures also show the wider hospital is costing more and more each year to maintain – with annual estate management costs at the 1960s site rising more than 40 per cent in the past five years.

The problems have grown worse since proposals for a £460m “super hospital” at Wynyard Park fell by the wayside in 2010.

Trust finance bosses have calculated it will cost an estimated £300m to rebuild the North Tees site – with a refurbishment the “least preferred option”.

Applications to the government for eight potential new hospitals close on September 9.

Work at the Friarage Neighbouring South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust had a high risk maintenance backlog of £1.2m in 2019/20 at its Friarage Hospital site, in Northallerton.

High risk repairs and replacements are defined as those which must be addressed as an urgent priority to prevent catastrophic failure, major disruption to clinical services, or deficiencies in safety liable to cause serious injury or prosecution.

Officials south of the river said the hospital was benefitting from a £5m investment in its new diagnostic hub to remove 70-year-old buildings and make a dent in its maintenance bill.

A South Tees spokesman added: “The new diagnostic hub will provide state-of-the-art facilities for patients undergoing urology and endoscopy procedures.

“The redundant buildings – the old physiotherapy and education blocks – were built during the Second World War.

“As well as reducing maintenance, heating and other costs which can be recycled into front-line patient services, their removal will clear the way for more developments at the hospital in the future.

“These include plans to replace the Friarage’s ageing theatre block with new modern operating theatres.

“Plans for the new theatre block are currently being developed and will go through regional and national business case development, assurance and approval processes before they can be given the go-ahead.

“The work follows a number of other clinically-led improvements at the hospital last year, including the opening of a new eye unit and rapid diagnostic centre, and the creation of a new renal unit.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Patient and staff safety is our top priority and we are investing record sums to upgrade NHS buildings and facilities so trusts can continue to provide the best possible quality of care.

“On top of at least £3.7bn to deliver 40 new hospitals and £850m for 20 major hospital upgrades across England, we recently provided £600m to tackle nearly 1,800 urgent maintenance projects across 178 trusts.”

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