Revealed: NHS Trusts experience the equivalent of three fires and nearly one flood per day

NHS Trusts experience the equivalent of three fires and nearly one flood per day, figures show.

New analysis reveals that in the last year the NHS has reported 358 floods – a high since records began and an increase of 28 per cent on the previous year.

University Hospitals Nottingham and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire recorded the most incidents of flooding with 56 and 51 respectively.

They were followed by Princess Alexandra Hospitals in Harlow, Essex, with 36.

There were also 1,102 fires reported across NHS Trusts last year – the equivalent of three a day – which led to the injury of 21 people.

Central and North West London Trust reported 97 fires last year, the highest in the country, followed by Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust with 93 and Somerset Foundation Trust with 83.

The NHS’s repair backlog now stands at £13.8 billion, a near 20 per cent rise on last year’s record figure of £11.6 billion.

The ‘high risk’ backlog – when a failure to urgently address repairs could lead to serious injury and major disruption to services – has reached £2.74 billion.

The Liberal Democrats, who carried out the analysis, called the figures ‘shocking’ and called for investment to fix the country’s ‘crumbling’ hospitals.

Their health and social care spokeswoman Helen Morgan said: ‘It is shocking to think that patients are being treated in hospitals and buildings that are experiencing regular flooding and the potential for fires to break out at any moment.

‘The new government must now rise to the greatest challenge facing this country, rescuing our NHS.

‘That must start at the Budget with any changes to the fiscal rules used to invest in fixing our crumbling hospitals.’