HEALTH bosses would have had to spend £15 million on repairs at Essex County Hospital if it had stayed open.

According to NHS Digital, Colchester’s hospital trust needs to spend almost £9 million on “high risk” repairs.

However, the hospital trust has revealed most of the figure will be “written off ”.

A spokesman for East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust said: “While at first glance this is a huge amount of money, the imminent closure of Essex County Hospital means we will be able to write-off more than £15 million worth of repairs and replacements required there.

“After the closure we will need to spend £3.8 million at Colchester General Hospital and have a clear plan to do this, having conducted a professional conditional survey in 2016, and put aside £1.5 million in the programme for this financial year.

“We intend to do this again next year and the year after that.

“No wholesale repairs are required and no area is unsafe.

“The £1.5 million has been put aside for the renewal of infrastructure and plant that is at the end of its lifecycle.”

The repair bill across England reached a record £6 billion at the end of March, according to NHS Digital.

It has risen every year since 2011-12, when it stood at £4 billion, while costs for outstanding high risk works have more than tripled over the same period.

Amber Jabbal, head of policy at NHS Providers, said: “We need to act now to ensure vital repair works are carried out to NHS buildings and equipment.

“Although more of the capital spending this year has been targeted at reducing the backlog of repairs, this is likely to have come at the expense of investing in new equipment and facilities to improve the experience of patients.

“While this approach shows trusts are rightly prioritising immediate concerns about safety, they are increasingly unable to take a longer term, strategic approach to investment.”

Last year, the Colchester’s hospital trust spent £1.5million trying to reduce its backlog.”

A Department of Health spokesman said: “Investment to tackle this maintenance work has increased by 25 per cent from £324 million in 2016- 17 to £404 million in 2017-18 to help trusts maintain their estates and invest in new facilities.”