![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/obese-patients-couldnt-be-moved-from-hospital-ground-level-over-fears-floor-would-break/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/3_THP_CHP_020223Slug_1619JPG.jpg&description=Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete was widely used in the construction of a number of public buildings from the 1960s to the 1990s but has now gone long past its lifespan, and could collapse Obese patients couldn't be moved from the ground floor of a hospital due to a lightweight concrete that's sparked chaos across schools this week. Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is a lightweight, and cheap alternative to the normal construction material, used from the 1960s to the 1990s. However, for years now, there have been concerns over its strength and durability due to its unique, 'chocolate aero' like structure. RAAC was described to The Mirror as 'mostly air' and it has a lifespan of around 30 years - of which we're now long past. Over time it degrades, and is worn down by the environment as metal bindings shift and lose strength too. However, RAAC was used widely in schools, as The Mirror reported this week, and in hospitals too. The Mirror previously revealed the full extent of how RAAC was used in the NHS, and how seven hospitals were built 'almost exclusively' with it. These hospitals have had to deploy thousands of steel props to keep the roofs up, and some have introduced weight limits to operating theatres. And now, writing in The Times, Labour MP Meg Hillier wrote about the time she visited a hospital where obese patients had to be treated on the ground floor. She described it as 'jaw dropping', before adding: "Heavy patients must be treated on the ground floor because the combined weight with equipment is too heavy to be safe. Roof failure is a daily risk". There has been a desperate scramble in the days before the new academic year starts to make these school sites and buildings safe again. RAAC is a billion-plus pound problem for the NHS as the affected hospitals often have tens of thousands of RAAC planks - to the point the above hospitals need replacing entirely. However, tens of millions of pounds is currently being spent just firefighting the im){kind=link}
Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete was widely used in the construction of a number of public buildings from the 1960s to the 1990s but has now gone long past its lifespan, and could collapse
Obese patients couldn’t be moved from the ground floor of a hospital due to a lightweight concrete that’s sparked chaos across schools this week.
Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is a lightweight, and cheap alternative to the normal construction material, used from the 1960s to the 1990s. However, for years now, there have been concerns over its strength and durability due to its unique, “chocolate aero” like structure.
RAAC was described to The Mirror as “mostly air” and it has a lifespan of around 30 years – of which we’re now long past. Over time it degrades, and is worn down by the environment as metal bindings shift and lose strength too. However, RAAC was used widely in schools, as The Mirror reported this week, and in hospitals too.
The Mirror previously revealed the full extent of how RAAC was used in the NHS, and how seven hospitals were built “almost exclusively” with it. These hospitals have had to deploy thousands of steel props to keep the roofs up, and some have introduced weight limits to operating theatres.