A shock poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats indicates that many patients feel unsafe in Britain’s hospitals. The poll revealed that 49% of people either thought their hospital was unsafe or did not know if it was safe or not.
This was derived from a number of factors, including fears that they would experience a power cut (34%), the heating would fail (32%), the building would suffer a ceiling collapse (27%), that there would be a rodent/insect infestation (26%), or that there could be a sewage leak or flooding (20%).
In response to this, the Liberal Democrats have called for a “crumbling hospitals taskforce” to be set up inside the Health Department to “protect patients from the deteriorating NHS estate and drive forward the New Hospital Programme”, reports a party spokesperson.
Previous research by the Lib Dem’s indicate that over 90% of repairs on the maintenance backlog are classed as “high-risk”, meaning that failure to urgently address them “could lead to serious injury and major disruption to services”.
A major Labour policy has been to improve the services of the NHS, cutting waiting times, shifting care away from hospitals and to community hubs. Their plans for “the biggest reimagining of the NHS” since its formation came after an independent report indicated that the NHS was in “critical condition”
The Liberal Democrats have recently criticised the government over it’s handling of A&E waiting times after it was revealed that they had increased by 400 times since 2015 and 23% since December 2019.
Helen Morgan MP and Lib Dem Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It’s shocking that so many patients no longer trust the buildings they rely on to get better, fearing the very walls they’re treated in might crumble. Patients should only worry about their health—not whether the roof will cave in on them.
“The previous Conservative government’s neglect of the NHS brought us to this disgraceful point. Yet, the Labour government has failed to act fast enough to protect patients from these decaying buildings.
“Ministers must tackle this crisis head-on by creating a dedicated taskforce to drive urgent repairs and safeguard patients.
“We should be rebuilding the NHS to be the envy of the world it once was, but until these decaying hospitals are fixed, patients will keep paying the price.”
The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.
