MILLIONS of patients are being treated in dilapidated hospitals older than the NHS itself, research shows.
More than 2,000 were built before the health service was founded in 1948.
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And they face frequent sewage leaks and elevator breakdowns.
Among the hardest hit is the Tavistock and Portman Trust in London, where two-thirds of the buildings pre-date the NHS.
It is followed by Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Bradford University Hospitals.
Lib Dem health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “It is a national scandal that millions of people across the country are being treated in old, dilapidated hospitals that are no longer fit for purpose.
“Patients and staff deserve the dignity of safe, modern and clean hospitals.
“But instead, this government has shamefully chosen to attack capital budgets to repair dilapidated buildings in order to plug the gap in daily costs, while hospitals are literally falling apart.”
The Department of Health insisted: “We are investing record sums to upgrade and modernize NHS buildings, with £4.2 billion invested last year alone, which helped us achieve the biggest five-month fall in waiting lists in the last 10 years.
“This is in addition to expected investment of more than £20 billion for the New Hospitals Program – with four hospitals already open and another four expected to follow this financial year and a further £1.7 billion for more than 70 hospital upgrades.”
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