Fife’s ageing NHS buildings are in need of £89 million of maintenance to bring them up to an acceptable standard, it has been revealed.
The cost of outstanding work across NHS Fife’s estate has soared by £11.5m in the last year, mainly due to further deterioration of the 50-year-old tower block at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.
Around £30m needs spent just on the tower, where the external cladding has been given a lifespan of only five years, window sections are failing and the cast iron drainage system is considered poor and is giving cause for concern.
While most inpatient departments have already been moved from the block to reduce risk, it is still needed for outpatient services and office accommodation.
A plan to address the problems in 2012 was shelved as the tower would have had to be decanted and there was no capacity elsewhere in the hospital.
Options for a rolling programme of repairs will be looked at soon however, now that the block is almost empty of patients.
Issues elsewhere include deteriorating hospital lifts and a decline in the condition of the Sir George Sharp Unit at Cameron Hospital in Windygates, which needs £1m of maintenance.
Andy Fairgrieve, NHS Fife’s director of estates, facilities and capital services, said the aim was to bring at least 90% of all essential properties up to a minimum satisfactory condition by next year.
“This is however proving very challenging given the relative age of the estate and lack of capital funding which would allow reconfiguration when backlog repairs are addressed,” he said.
More than 40% of properties are over 50-years-old but Mr Fairgrieve said it was hoped some of those would be disposed of, either through sale or demolition.
New ways of working across the NHS will also help address the increasing costs.
This will include a regional approach to certain services involving working with neighbouring boards, working with other organisations and a redesign of community and mental health services which will see more people treated at home or in the community.
In areas where improvement is needed, Mr Fairgrieve said the aim would be to ensure the layout of accommodation allowed for the safe and effective delivery of services.
NHS Fife chief executive Paul Hawkins said a report by Mr Fairgrieve outlined the scale of the problem facing the board.
“It shows a big challenge in Fife and we have to think about it with a technology head on,” he said.
“It’s not about replacing like for like.”
