Managing RAAC in the NHS estate to ‘maintain safety and confidence’
NHS England has told NHS trust boards to take steps to assure themselves around the risks to the presence of reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete (RAAC) in their estate and that this is being “incorporated into standard business continuity planning”. This follows concerns around RAAC in the school estate and new guidance from the Department for Education regarding the approach to the presence of RAAC in school buildings.
In a letter to all NHS trusts, NHS England outlined actions estate leads need to be taking to assure themselves “as far as possible that RAAC is identified and appropriately mitigated, to keep patients, staff and visitors safe.”
The letter covers four key areas:
- Guidance on RAAC identification, monitoring and remediation
- Identification of RAAC
- Management of identified RAAC
- Planning for RAAC incidents
In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care said:
“The NHS has a mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with confirmed RAAC, backed with significant additional funding of £698 million from 2021 to 2025, for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures. We remain committed to eradicating RAAC from the NHS estate entirely by 2035.
“Additionally, we have announced that the seven most affected NHS hospitals will be replaced by 2030 through our New Hospital Programme.”
“The technical advice received from the NHS is that the current approach to monitoring and mitigation remains appropriate.”
Supporting you
We are currently advising affected trusts in connection with contracts for reconstruction and replacement of the affected roofs. We have been able to support our clients to ensure the hospitals can remain open safely for patients and staff whilst the vital repair works to the roofs are being carried out, using a bespoke delivery agreement with individual call offs to facilitate a streamlined transition between affected areas.
Do get in touch if your trust requires legal support to prepare contracts for the repair and reconstruction of hospital roofs affected by RAAC concrete. please do get in touch if your trust requires legal support to prepare contracts for the repair and reconstruction of hospital roofs affected by RAAC concrete.