Hillingdon Hospital forced to close child wards over ‘structural failure’

A file image of Hillingdon Hospital
Sean Dempsey/PA
Ross Lydall @RossLydall17 October 2019

Boris Johnson's constituency hospital has been forced to close its children’s wards after the building began to fall apart.

Engineers spotted subsidence at Hillingdon hospital, prompting the Peter Pan, Wendy and Tinkerbell wards to be shut amid concerns about safety.

The problems were described as ­“significant building failure to the sub-structure, rendering parts of the building inoperable”.

The hospital’s condition is among the worst in London, with a repairs backlog of about £200 million.

But it was given only “seed funding” from the Government’s £1.8 billion pledged last month by Mr Johnson to rebuild the NHS’s worst hospitals.

The funding is to help it draw up plans for a new hospital, which is not due until 2025-2030. Peter Pan is an inpatient long-stay and emergency ward used by children receiving cancer treatment and who have been admitted via A&E.

The Wendy ward is used for day patients, including children undergoing less complex operations and requiring blood tests. Tinkerbell is used by paediatric outpatients.

The child inpatients have been moved to other parts of the hospital, while outpatient clinics are being held elsewhere on the site.

Visiting the hospital last week, Mr Johnson said: “It needs a complete rebuild and that is what we are going to do.”

Hospital chief executive Sarah Tedford said the move was done as a precaution. She said: “This is an unfortunate legacy of our ageing estate, which is why we have worked hard to try to secure the funding not only for a new hospital but for interim repairs and maintenance.”

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