Agenda item

Purpose of the item: To provide an update on work to keep the Frimley Park Hospital building safe and services maintained.

Witnesses:

Carol Deans, Director, Communications and Engagement (Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust)

Alex White, Programme Director, New Frimley Park Hospital Programme (Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust)

Caroline Hutton, Deputy Chief Executive and Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the New Frimley Park Hospital Programme (Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust).

Sam Burrows, Chief Transformation, Delivery and Digital Officer (NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board)

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. The Programme Director took the Committee through the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) maintenance plan. There is an on-going pro-active planned preventative maintenance programme to address risk. One issue with the maintenance work was that certain areas of the hospital had to be vacated while works were undertaken. The works did not address other constraints such as ventilation. Three key areas of the contingency plan included the proactive rolling programme of engineering works, keeping everyone appraised of the issues being faced and alerting management teams of any issues as they arose, and an urgent response situation which would be applied to operational issues.

2. Concerning the operational impact and contingency plans, the SRO explained that the planning required to manage and coordinate capacity plans and the RAAC mitigation programme was significant. 

3. The SRO highlighted that staff were aware of the RAAC situation and reported anything unusual. Planning ahead scenarios were also factored into staff training and awareness. The emergency preparedness, resilience and response (EPRR) plans included NHSE and regional teams. Scenarios were also worked through with colleagues in the event of needing to move patients.

4. A Member asked how many wards/areas of the current hospital could be closed at one time due to RAAC maintenance. The SRO explained that usually no more than two wards/areas would be closed at one time. For example, the hospital’s day surgery units were closed at the same time as the theatres. It was variable in terms of what arose at inspections. This needed to be factored into operational planning and mapped out ahead of time as far as possible.

5. A Member asked for more details around the process and engineering involved in the maintenance works. The New Frimley Park Hospital Programme Director explained that the ongoing works were predominately to reinforce the roof which were made of RAAC planks. Typically, suspended ceilings were removed, and services underneath the RAAC planks need to be removed.

6. In terms of the maintenance works, the Member asked whether the hospital would be better repaired, or if the building was still at risk in relation to all of this work being done. The New Frimley Park Hospital Programme Director explained that the maintenance works did not address other issues associated with the age of the hospital, such as ventilation requirements. A ward would ordinarily require six air changes per hour, and the current hospital did not currently have the engineering to achieve this. The RAAC planks also had a limited life despite maintenance works.

7. A Member asked if the RAAC plank’s limited lifespan would be enough until the new hospital was built, or whether additional maintenance work would be needed. The New Frimley Park Hospital Programme Director explained that generally speaking it looked like it would be enough but could not be certain that it would not need additional work. The SRO added that the rolling programme would continue until the new hospital opened, including continuous inspections, including the areas that had previous mitigation works.

8. The Chairman asked whether, if the New Hospital Programme was delayed, there was a risk that a point would be reached where the continuation of maintenance works would not be possible. The SRO stated that the hospital was not out of risk and the maintenance work was to mitigate risk. She was not currently aware of reaching a point where mediation work could not be done. A close risk management approach was important and if the situation changed, plans would also need to change, but the works are being delivered in accordance with the advice of professional engineers. This was closely monitored and scrutinised by NHSE teams.

9. The Vice-Chairman asked if there was risk management data on work that was undertaken so far. The SRO confirmed there was risk management data on the areas that were mitigated, and this could be shared with the Committee. The SRO also highlighted that areas that had maintenance work were not all the same.

10. The Vice-Chairman referred to the maps that were provided to the Committee on Frimley Park Hospital’s current sites and requested that the Frimley team ensure an abbreviation list was provided in the future, and the SRO confirmed that a de-coder to those abbreviated terms could be provided.

11. The Vice-Chairman asked if the EPRR plans included utilising private establishments. The SRO explained that all appropriate areas and capacity that could be included were reviewed. The Chief Transformation, Delivery and Digital Officer added that there were multiple statutory bodies with different responsibilities. Whilst Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (Frimley Health) as a statutory organisation had its own risk and EPRR plan around worst-case scenarios, NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (Frimley ICB) had its own level one category responding plan and NHSE, both nationally and regionally, also had their own response plans.

12. The Vice-Chairman referred to the £30 million that would have been spent on maintenance works by the end of 2024/25 and raised that the programme originally had £40 million to spend on this. The SRO clarified that £30 million was spent on inspections and contingency. The SRO did not recognise the £40 million figure and explained there had never been a capped amount to spend on inspection and mitigation. The Vice-Chairman asked about how the mitigation works were budget for. The SRO explained that there was a budget allocation from government for RAAC mitigation works. The SRO agreed to look into what the £40 million was in reference to, noting it could be related to the M Block diagnostic centre.

13. The SRO added that there had been strong support from the National New Hospital Programme team who were committed to working closely with Frimley Health to speed up the plans as much as possible and to achieve the timelines set out.