Leeds hospitals record the most sewage leaks in the country as trust blames issues on 'misuse' and 'blockages'

Figures from 55 NHS trusts show that in the past 12 months there have been 456 sewage leaks in England’s hospitals, with 105 of these recorded in Leeds.

The figures were revealed by the Liberal Democrats through Freedom of Information requests, with some of the responses also detailing the nature and location of the leaks as staff logged the sewage issues onto a central system. Among the hospital wards impacted, there were reports of “coloured water” leaking through the ceiling in a respiratory day unit, urine and “faecal matter” leaking into a security office, as well as urine leaking into wards.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the figures revealed a “national scandal” and urged ministers to find “urgent funds to fix hospitals overflowing with sewage”.

He said: “This is a national scandal. Our country’s hospitals are falling apart after years of underinvestment and neglect. Patients should not be treated in these conditions and heroic nurses should not have the indignity of mopping up foul sewage.

“There is still no sign of the new hospitals promised by this Conservative Government. They have taken local communities for granted by yet again breaking a manifesto promise.”

The Government said it is investing “record sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings”.

Commenting on the figures, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “While individual NHS organisations are legally responsible for maintaining their estates, we are investing record sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings so staff have the facilities needed to provide world-class care – including £4.2 billion this year and £8.4 billion over the next two years.

“More widely, we have invested £3.7 billion for the first four years of the New Hospital Programme and remain committed to all schemes that have been announced as part of it.”

A spokesperson for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “As one of the largest teaching hospitals in the country, we have a huge estate spanning from Victorian to state-of-the-art, over 500,000 square metres and across seven hospital sites. Our hospitals welcome over 1.5 million visitors a year and sees in excess of 150 million gallons of water used per annum.

“Many reported incidents are minor, routine maintenance issues, which our Estates and Facilities team do a fantastic job in responding to quickly to ensure minimal impact on our patients and staff.

“Unfortunately, a large proportion of such incidents are the result of misuse, with inappropriate items being flushed into the system, leading to blockages. We make sure to remind both our staff and patients that waste should be disposed of in the proper manner.

“While we have a comprehensive capital programme in place to ensure ongoing investment in our infrastructure, much of our estate is aging. This causes a significant maintenance backlog, which inevitably leads to incidents such as leaks that require regular upkeep.

“Through our plans for a new hospital building at Leeds General Infirmary a number of our departments are expected to move into a modern, purpose-built and more efficient environment.”