‘Aero bar’ ceiling is safe, insist hospital managers

FRIMLEY PARK NAMED BY HEALTH MINISTER AS BUILDING CONSTRUCTED WITH AERATED CONCRETE

FRIMLEY Park Hospital has insisted its patients and staff are safe after ministers admitted its ceiling was made of concrete which could collapse at any moment.

The revelation came during a written parliamentary answer from Health Minister Maria Caulfield who revealed 34 hospitals, including Frimley Park, were using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

As reported in the Guardian, one hospital boss likened the material to a “chocolate Aero bar”, which was used during the hospital’s construction in 1974.

In 2020, Simon Corben, NHS England’s director of estates, said RAAC posed a “significant safety risk” as its age meant it could fall down without warning.

In response to being one of the named hospitals using this material, a spokesman for Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust said it had taken measures to improve the safety of the ceiling, including using a £110million fund set aside by the Department of Health and Social Care. They also said RAAC was used widely in other public buildings, such as schools, at the time.

The spokesman said: “As part of a government-funded programme we have taken temporary measures to waterproof and reinforce Frimley Park Hospital on the expert advice of structural engineers, as well as carrying out regular inspections of the affected areas, to ensure the safety of patients and staff. NHS hospitals built using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) are required to be removed by 2035. To help us achieve this, we are developing proposals to redevelop or rebuild the hospital and are working with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to identify the necessary funding.”