The Greater Manchester hospitals with crumbling concrete - and might not be fixed for 12 years

Dangerous crumbling concrete has been used in a number of Greater Manchester hospitals, but current government plans will not see the removal of the material from all affected sites for another 12 years.

Last year, the Manchester Evening Newsrevealed how the north west was, at the time, the worst region in the country for hospital roofs built with the type of concrete potentially prone to sudden collapse. The list of hospitals with the material has since grown by three, the M.E.N. can confirm - including buildings at North Manchester General, Stepping Hill, Salford Royal, the Royal Oldham and Wythenshawe hospitals.

The roofs might not be fixed until 2035, government bosses admitted back in October 2022 and have now reaffirmed. More than 10 hospital buildings across the north west have been built with concrete that has prompted concerns of the risk of cracking and collapse from government bodies, safety groups and politicians alike.

The roofs are built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which is a lightweight, cheaper form of material.

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A year before it hit the headlines after schools across the country were found to have the potentially dangerous material, it was being compared to a 'chocolate Aero bar' and slammed as a 'ticking time bomb' by one NHS chief executive. In a new statement, the Department of Health has reiterated that the government 'remains committed to eradicating RAAC from the NHS estate entirely by 2035', 12 years away, despite national outcry about the safety of the concrete in schools.

More than 100 schools, including seven in Greater Manchester, were contacted about the issue days before