The cost of clearing a backlog of maintenance work required on NHS buildings in England has reached £9.2billion, the health service has warned.
A report published by NHS Digital revealed the sum was needed to complete upgrades to buildings between April 2020 and March 2021 that 'should already have taken place'.
The bill – which is 2.2 per cent higher than last year – includes maintaining 10,258 hospitals and other buildings, as well as ambulance services.
The report also set out that the NHS spent £10.2billion to run its facilities in in the year up to March 2021 – a 4.8 per cent increase on the previous year.
And its cleaning costs were £1.1billion – a five per cent year-one-year jump – while it cost £600million to provide hospital patients with food.
The document has been published ahead of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's spending review, which is due to be released later this month and will detail how much cash the NHS will get over the next three years.
The NHS has already been promised a £30billion handout to clear the record-hihgh waiting list for elective care that has amassed during the pandemic.
A report from NHS Digital revealed the health service needs an extra £9.2billion to carry out a backlog of maintenance work across it 10,258 buildings in England. Pictured: Royal Liverpool Hospital flooded 10 times in 2018, causing delays to patient care and forcing staff to wear wellies
Figures published today showed that the NHS waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has hit another record high, with 5.7million now in the queue.
The NHS' maintenance costs were revealed in the estates return information collection (ERIC) report, which all NHS and ambulance trusts have to complete.
