WIREDGOV

Backlog maintenance down by £150 million.

The Scottish Government has made substantial progress in reducing the backlog maintenance across NHS Scotland by over £150 million since 2011.

The State of the Estate report, published today, shows that the NHS has brought the backlog down to £858 million and expects it to drop by a further £230 million in the next five years.

The report also highlights a reduction of high risk backlog maintenance by 60 per cent since 2011.

In 2013-14 alone, over £525 million has been invested in NHS buildings and equipment.

Health Secretary Alex Neil said:

“I want every patient in Scotland to be treated in facilities that are truly fit for purpose and as close to home as possible.

“That is why we are continuing to invest in buildings and equipment to enable our NHS to provide state of the art facilities for patients and staff.

“The report shows that we are making significant progress in reducing the backlog of repairs needed and we will continue to build on this - planning for a further reduction of £230 million in five years.

“Patients and staff can be confident that this Government will do everything within our power to ensure that our NHS buildings are kept at the standards they deserve."

The report highlights a number of examples of improvement across the NHS estate including:

NHS Boards will continue to target high and significant risk backlog maintenance in clinical areas over the next five years by replacing older properties with modern fit for purpose accommodation, estate rationalisation and incorporating repair works within major refurbishment projects.

Current capital projects include replacement of both the Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh and the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, as well as the New South Glasgow Hospitals development, which at £842 million is currently the largest hospital build in Europe.

Notes to editors

The Annual State of NHSScotland Assets and Facilities Report for 2013 is the third annual report published by Scottish Government on asset and facilities management in NHS Scotland.

It builds on the two previous State of the Estate reports in 2011 and 2012 and was developed by Scottish Government with support from the NHS Boards and Health Facilities Scotland (HFS).

It reports on asset and facilities management performance, highlighting areas of best practice, and sets target areas for improvement which align with NHS Scotland’s “Healthcare Quality Strategy”.

This year's report provides a comprehensive review and analysis of asset and facility services performance, focussing on monitoring and comparing year on year performance on a comprehensive basis across NHS Scotland’s assets.