Recommendation 20

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) is a lightweight building material that was widely used from the 1960s to the 1980s. From the late 1990s, industry bodies warned that it was unlikely to remain structurally sound for more than 30 years after construction. NHS England became aware of its problem with RAAC from around 2019, after a school roof collapse led to a national alert in 2019 about the risk of sudden failure.40 Mitigating the risk of structural failures from RAAC can be very disruptive to a hospital’s operations. We visited two hospitals with RAAC and saw for ourselves the impact on clinical work. This included wards having to close urgently and the managing of patient admissions based on weight because of the risk of a floor collapse. DHSC confirmed that there was an impact on clinical spaces and NHS England told us “the management of RAAC can be really burdensome for local teams” and that mitigations could not completely eliminate risks.41