Responding to the DHSC x DFE announcement: ‘Patients and pupils to benefit from £1.2bn vital repairs to crumbling schools and hospitals’

Mr Tim Mitchell, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) said:

“It is good that the Government is listening and recognises that NHS facilities that have fallen into a dire state of disrepair are significantly hampering efforts to bring down the waiting list.    

“The capital funding announced today could make a real difference for those hospitals and facilities that need urgent repairs. However, with the NHS maintenance backlog currently standing at £13.8 billion, this really is just a drop in the ocean.   

“Repairing and modernising the infrastructure that supports operations going ahead is an absolute necessity. If the Government is serious about meeting waiting time targets, it must make capital funding for NHS buildings a clear priority in the upcoming Spending Review.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. As of December 2024, the total cost to eradicate NHS “maintenance backlog” was £13.8 billion. This is a measure of how much would need to be invested to restore a building to a certain state based on a state of assessed risk criteria. It does not include planned maintenance work (rather, it is work that should already have taken place). Full data here: Estates Returns Information Collection, Summary page and dataset for ERIC 2023/24 - NHS England Digital

2. The Royal College of Surgeons of England provides world-class education, assessment, and development to 30,000 surgeons, dental professionals, and members of the wider surgical and dental care teams at all stages of their careers. Our vision is to see excellent surgical care for everyone. We do this by setting professional standards, facilitating research, and championing the best outcomes for patients.
3. For more information, please contact the press office: telephone: 020 7869 6053/6054/6047; email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk; out-of-hours media enquiries: 0207 869 6056.