Staff at The Royal Liverpool University Hospital have raised concerns about worsening conditions at the hospital as they await the move to a new building.
A new building was first approved in 2013 and scheduled to open in 2017, but problems with the build and the collapse of developer Carrillion in 2018, means it has yet to open.
Meanwhile, the old hospital is deteriorating and hospital staff say little is being done to fix problems because of the looming move.
The staff’s perspective
One nurse at the hospital, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “A lot of the electrics don’t work, a lot of the plugs don’t work, a lot of the machines we need don’t work at times, which means we can’t provide the care that we want to.
“We don’t actually have enough space, for things like patient hand over, which is really important at the beginning of a shift, when you need to pass on the care from one group of nurses to the next.
“We don’t have a room or an area that we are able to do that in because of the lack of space.”
Regarding the new hospital, the nurse said: “I think it will be a lot better in some aspects, because we will have have facilities for ourselves, plugs that work and plumbing that actually works
“There are downsides to the new build, I know that it’s going to be side rooms only, which means that it’s going to be more work for nurses in the sense that we can’t keep an eye on patients all the time.
“It’s just a fact of when are we going to move into it because it’s just always put off, I don’t actually know when we’re meant to be moving into it.”
Another nurse from the hospital, who also wishes to remain anonymous, is eager for the move.
They said: “It’s been a long wait but I’m sure it will be worth it
“We’re all excited to get in there and have more space, it will be easier to deliver the care we want to when the conditions improve.”
One of the radiographers at the Royal Hospital told Merseynewslive that in their department “the walls are coming off”.
“We are literally trying to tape it all together.
“It’s just annoying because we have been needing new rooms for so long and when they say that the new Royal is opening soon they don’t want to buy new equipment.”
The new Royal
The Royal Liverpool University Hospital was opened in 1978 and has been one of Merseyside’s main hospitals ever since.
Plans for a new 650-bed city hospital were approved back in 2013 and funded by The Private Finance Initiative, Carrillion.
Delays occurred during 2017 due to problems including an asbestos discovery, issues with the power supply and cracks in the structural beams.
Work on the site was frozen when Carrillion collapsed in January 2018, which caused large delays for the project.
The Private Finance Initiative that was originally funding the project was then replaced with public funding.
The original project was planned to cost £429million.
However, in 2020, the National Audit Office projected that the overall cost of the new Royal would be around £1.1billion, £739million of which will be paid by public funds and the rest picked up by private sector funding.
Construction on the new site is still on-going and it is aiming to open for use this summer nine years after the development was approved.
Liverpool University Hospital has been contacted for comment but has not responded.
