THE Countess of Chester Hospital has revealed what is being done to protect patients from crumbly concrete present in its Women and Children's Building.

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has made headlines over the past week as more than 100 schools with it were forced to close or partially shut over safety concerns.

The cheap lightweight alternative to traditional concrete was used in UK building construction between the 1950s and the 1980s and, despite an unexpected ceiling collapse at a Kent school staff room in 2018, no emergency measures were implemented by the Government until this week.

RAAC is present in the Countess of Chester Hospital's Women and Children's Building, except for the extension which now houses the neonatal unit, which was built following the Chester Standard-backed Babygrow appeal in the past five years.

The concrete had previously been expected to have a lifespan until the year 2030, but given the updated '30-year lifespan' guidance, it is now believed the hospital building's RAAC – like many schools and other hospital buildings in the UK – is well past its best.

However, the hospital is more advanced than most when it comes to mitigating the problem, with construction work on a new Women and Children's Building at the Chester site well under way.

The CoCH Trust was previously successful in its application for a £110 million grant from the National RAAC Programme, which made construction on the new building possible after its plans were approved earlier this year.

The hospital trust says, for the remaining two years that the current Women and Children's Building is in use, there are "no critical concerns" with the building, and regular checks and maintenance are being carried out.

Joan Carter, project director at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Independent structural engineers conduct thorough annual reviews of the RAAC located in the Women and Children’s Building.

"The reviews are being conducted in line with national guidance from The Institution of Structural Engineers.

"The engineers have no critical concerns. The Trust follows any recommendations they make and this year has taken robust action to install failsafe measures to ensure any risk to patients or staff is minimised.

“The Trust has now started construction of a new Women and Children’s Building following a £110 million grant from the National RAAC Programme. The building will be completed in 2025 with Women and Children’s services then relocating into the new building.”

After the new building is completed, it is expected the current neonatal unit will be repurposed, with current staff suggesting it become a training and simulation centre.

No other building on the Countess site has RAAC present.

One other Cheshire hospital is confirmed to have RAAC present on site, Leighton Hospital in Crewe, where an extensive programme of planned inspections and maintenance works has been in place since 2019. In the long term, the hospital is due to be replaced with a new state-of-the-art facility.

At the time plans were lodged for the new Countess site building, planning consultants Lightwater TPC Limited, on behalf of the hospital trust, said in a planning statement, said while the existing Women and Children's Building building roof planks were in a reasonable condition upon inspection, there were also areas of water penetration, and it was recommended that the roof planks in such circumstances should be replaced.

The applicants added: "In addition, the mechanical, electrical, ventilation and medical gas infrastructure within the existing building will need a full refit in the next few years, and if there were any other structural issues then if extensive works to the roof were needed, or if it needed to be replaced, then it is highly likely that those should be addressed at the same time.

"Cumulatively, the cost of these works would run to tens of millions of pounds.

"Even if funding could be found (and there is no certainty it could be, to cover the full cost) then it would be challenging for the Women and Children’s Service to continue to function while the work was undertaken."