House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats showed 14,596 hours of clinical time was lost due to infrastructure issues on the NHS estate, the equivalent of 608 days.
Liberal Democrat health and care spokesperson, Helen Morgan, said it was a ‘situation that the new Government must grip urgently and bring to an end'.
Morgan added: ‘That should start by ministers bringing forward a 10-year plan to eradicate the repair backlog and ensure that our NHS is fit for purpose so that patients can finally get the care they deserve.'
The figures revealed that close to 80% of time lost was due to incidents that were the most clinically impactful.
Infrastructure issues include crumbling roofs at risk of collapse, water leaks, broken-down lifts or ventilation and heating systems not working properly.
There were 7,966 in total, or 22 a day, incidents caused by infrastructure risks with 1,584 of these classified as critical incidents.
Essex Partnership University NHS Trust had the most critical incidents (300), followed by Princess Alexandra with 229 and then Guy and St Thomas's with 148. In total, 26 NHS Trusts have had at least 10 critical infrastructure incidents.
An EPUT spokesperson said: ‘As a community and mental health trust we work across more than 200 sites, just over 40% of which are co-located and managed by other providers.
‘Colleagues are encouraged to log all issues and we work closely with our partners to manage and resolve them as quickly as possible to minimise impact on patient care.'
The trust said it had invested £20m in an ongoing programme of refurbishment to make spaces safer and more therapeutic since 2020 and had recently approved a Trust Estates Strategy for the next 10 years.
The current maintenance backlog for the NHS estate stands at £13.8bn.
A total of 21 sites were approved for completion by the Government under the New Hospital Programme in September 2024, including seven given priority due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
The remaining 25 schemes remain under review after chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a ‘complete reset' for the programme in July 2024.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Buildings and equipment across the NHS and general practice have been left to crumble, disrupting patient care and hindering staff.
‘Repairing and rebuilding our hospital estate is a vital part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future – we're investing over £1bn to make inroads into the existing backlog of critical maintenance, repairs and upgrades across the NHS estate – protecting staff and patients and boosting NHS productivity.'
