The ICB’s infrastructure strategy was published on 26 September, covering community hospitals, mental health facilities, GP surgeries and dental practices as well as major hospitals.
A spokesman said: “Some of our buildings are modern and flexible, fit for modern healthcare delivery. Others are more than 150 years old and no longer easy to keep safe.
“Our infrastructure strategy lays out the significant challenges faced in doing this, particularly given funding restrictions and the increasing difficulties of managing greater demand in facilities which are not fit for purpose.”
The report says the county’s health infrastructure is impacted by an ageing population, housing growth, lack of key worker accommodation, a maintenance backlog and a shortage of funding.
Musgrove Park Hospital’s maternity services and some of its operating theatres are more than 70 years old and are “expensive to maintain and keep safe”.
While the theatres will soon be demolished once their replacements have been constructed, funding for a new maternity unit has not yet been secured.
Health bosses said they had identified buildings, some of which are former district council properties, which “have the potential for wider public sector usage beyond their current use”.
