Calls for an immediate decision on funding to construct a new hospital have been prompted by worsening sewage leak issues.
A growing maintenance backlog, according to managers at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, is having an impact on services.
In 2022, there were more than 40 leaks across the hospital complex, with about half being considered unsafe.
On plans for a new hospital, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) declared that it was collaborating with the trust.
Following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Liberal Democrats, reports of staff members experiencing headaches and nausea, ceiling tiles falling into operating rooms, and toilet waste seeping into waiting areas were found.
The hospital's acute medicine Charnley ward also had a "massive leak" that was "threaten[ing] the health and safety of staff, patients, and relatives.".
"Sewage leaks occur across the site on a regular basis, including below the ground, above the ground, and in our basement," said Michael Meredith, director of strategy and estates at the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT).
Although they are quickly and effectively dealt with, these are unpleasant, especially when they happen in areas that are accessible to patients, staff members, or the general public. ".
This is just one of many reasons, he continued, why we urgently need confirmation of the funding for our new hospital.
However, because of the estate's age, complexity, and the indecision regarding the funding for our new hospital, our backlog will only continue to increase.
The Princess Alexandra Hospital replacement project was scheduled to be finished by 2025, but delays have occurred, with the projected cost increasing by £250 million as a result.
The new structure was one of the 40 hospitals that the government under Boris Johnson pledged to erect by 2030.
There is "no sign of the new hospitals the Conservatives promised," according to Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.
He expressed his concern for all of the hospitals in the East of England as well as the Princess Alexandra.
"The Conservatives promised them money, but it hasn't been spent, and now we're seeing the results, like hospitals that are falling apart and sewage leaks.
It's repulsive; a national scandal.
Robert Halfon, a Conservative member of Parliament for Harlow, brought up the hospital's sewage leak issues in 2018.
He claimed at the time that sewage had been "flowing through the operating rooms.".
The National Audit Office is expected to release its findings regarding the government's commitment to building hospitals.
According to a DHSC spokesman, while individual NHS organizations are legally responsible for maintaining their estates, the DHSC is investing record amounts to upgrade and modernize NHS buildings so that staff members have the resources they need to deliver top-notch care, including £4 point 2 billion this year and £8 point 4 billion over the next two years.
More broadly, we have contributed £3.07 billion to the New Hospital Programme for the first four years and continue to be committed to all of the announced schemes.
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