Hospital chiefs warn of climate impacts on ageing buildings
In the wake of two major storms, health chiefs sound the alarm about vulnerable older buildings and extreme weather.
The University Hospital of North Tees is one of many organisations with ageing buildings. (Photo: Wheatley Hill via Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0)
Storm Ciara caused an estimated £20,000 worth of damage to the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton and the University Hospital of Hartlepool when it hit the UK in February 2020. Now North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, which operates both hospitals, is warning that the buildings, built in the 1960s and 1970s, are at risk of further damage from extreme weather.
Ciara brought high winds and record-breaking flooding across England. The Environment Agency issued more than 200 flood warnings. A week later, the UK was severely hit by Storm Dennis and then, at the end of the month, Storm Jorge.
The storms damaged charity buildings across the UK. While climate change is often associated with coastal and river flooding, the storms highlighted the fact that older buildings can be vulnerable to high winds and extreme rainfall.
Action needed
Climate change is expected to increase the severity of storms hitting the UK. Charities with older buildings should review their property assets and resilience planning in light of increasing climate risks. Trustees are responsible for the stewardship of physical assets and should satisfy themselves that the organisation understands its exposure and has appropriate plans in place.
"Our buildings are fundamentally vulnerable"
Ageing buildings are vulnerable to increasing climate impacts such as flooding and storm damage. Longer-term impacts include damp caused by flooding and heavy downpours and subsidence due to long dry spells. The consequences of buildings becoming unusable can be severe.
Patients at the University Hospital of North Tees had to be moved out of a ward because of water ingress as a result of storm pressure. The Hartlepool hospital had roof panels blown off by the storm.
Mike Worden, MD of NTH Solutions, the Trust's estates and facilities management company, said: "The reality we face is that our infrastructure at both main sites in Hartlepool and Stockton is now significantly aged, they were built in the 1960s/70s and are now vulnerable to the ever-increasing extremes of UK weather."
Worden said: "Owing to their age, and despite the dedication of our teams and the resolve of the leadership to address the issues, our buildings are fundamentally vulnerable."
The NHS Trust has established a climate change working group in partnership with NTH Solutions.