Airedale Hospital chief executive appeals to government over 200 leaks a year

Airedale Hospital has exceeded its 30-year lifespan by more than two decades

A health boss has said a West Yorkshire hospital is so run-down it experiences "more than 200 leaks a year".

Foluke Ajayi, chief executive of Keighley's Airedale Hospital, said the building was "unfit for purpose" as she renewed calls for government action.

Ms Ajayi said the hospital urgently needed confirmation it could start a rebuild as part of the Department of Health's New Hospital Programme.

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust applied for government funding two years ago.

In 2020 the government announced that 40 hospitals would be built by 2030 as part of a package worth £3.7bn.

Ms Ajayi said: "We ask that we are admitted onto the New Hospital Programme and that we can start work as soon as possible.

"That fabric is no longer fit for purpose and independent engineers' advice is that we need to be out of this building by 2030, hence the urgency."

Foluke Ajayi said temporary fixes at Airedale Hospital would last less than 10 years

The hospital boss said "daily fixes" were needed to keep the hospital - which also serves parts of North Yorkshire - operational, with structures put in "to keep the building up for now".

"That we have a timetable for delivery and build of a new hospital remains really important," she added.

Ms Ajayi said: "We experience over 200 different leaks a year across our building and many of our fixes will last less than 10 years - this is significant work that we do every day."

The chief executive's comments come just weeks after Conservative MP Robbie Moore called for the "crumbling" hospital to be urgently replaced due to "dangerous structural deficiencies."

Mr Moore, the MP for Keighley and Ilkley, said he had "lobbied the government on this issue more than any other".

The hospital, which serves a population of 220,000, was built in the 1960s with a planned lifespan of 30 years.

It was constructed mostly of a reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a material since known for serious structural deficiencies.

A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson said: "Airedale NHS Foundation Trust has been allocated £15m in 2021-22 and £19.9m in 2022-23 to address the most immediate RAAC issues.

"We are committed to eradicating RAAC from the NHS estate by 2035 and protecting patient and staff safety in the interim period, with the NHS approaching this on a risk basis prioritising trusts of concern.

"We have allocated £685m to directly address urgent risks relating to the use of RAAC in the NHS estate."

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust previously said it was "taking every step possible to maintain safety within the building" while awaiting a decision from DHSC.