When evidence began to emerge from Trusts calling for funding to help prevent collapse of their hospitals, none could quite have imagined the scale of challenge some were facing.
Structural roofing across several hospitals was starting to fail, with severe risk to patients and staff.
It meant that a rapid, cost effective and sustainable solution was needed to make sure that patient safety remained central to hospital operations.
Back in the mid 1950’s, a technique called reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was used in the construction of a number of hospital and school buildings.
RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete used primarily for roofs from the mid-fifties to the mid-eighties; the limited durability of which has long been recognised, with lifespans expected to be only 30 years, yet many are still in service four decades later.
However, recent reports including those by the LGA and the DfE have suggested the problem may be more serious than previously recognised, with failures being recorded before adequate visual deterioration had been identified.
In addition, hospital trusts have worked hard to identify and implement emergency safety mechanisms (such as steel supports and props) to reduce the risk of collapse.
A BBC report back in August 2021 said ‘a major casualty plan’ would be invoked in the event of part of a hospital collapsing, with patients transferred to other hospitals.
Pictured: RAAC planks
