Surgeons at Great Ormond Street Hospital had to use phone torches during a spinal operation after a power outage, as reported by The Independent.
The NHS safety watchdog found the hospital is facing ongoing maintenance issues, including power failures and water leaks.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) warned of “recurrent” problems, including the outage during spinal surgery and ventilation system failures.
The report said: “Concerns were raised about the maintenance of operating theatres and equipment safety.
“A recent power outage during a spinal surgery procedure required staff to use mobile phone torches to complete wound closure.
“This incident, alongside reports of water leaks affecting electrical systems and theatre closures due to filtration failures, indicated ongoing issues with estates and facilities management.”
The CQC also raised concerns about “surgical accountability and oversight” at the trust.
Its inspection followed scrutiny of the trust over care provided to hundreds of children by orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabber.
The findings reflect wider problems across the NHS estate, with England facing a £14bn maintenance backlog that continues to affect patient safety and cause cancelled operations.
According to the National Audit Office, around 5,400 clinical service incidents occur each year in the NHS due to infrastructure or building failures.
The CQC said the trust had taken action in response to problems, but warned there were “recurrent theatre maintenance failures that had resulted in delayed or cancelled surgical procedures, impacting patient safety and access to timely care.”
A spokeswoman for the trust said the power cut was caused by an electrical system power failure and confirmed an external review had been commissioned.
The trust told The Sunday Times that although the surgical lights above the patient stayed on, staff used phone torches to move around the theatre safely and find necessary equipment.
According to the Health Foundation, NHS capital spending would need to increase by 10.2 per cent a year between 2024–25 and 2029–30 to address the maintenance backlog and improve buildings, equipment and technology.
Following the government’s spending review, the Department of Health and Social Care’s capital budget is expected to increase by £2.3bn – from £10.9bn in 2023–24 to £13.2bn in 2025–26.
Hospitals across the country continue to report safety concerns linked to deteriorating buildings.
Last month, Gloucester Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust relied on paper systems after a server failure just before a five-day junior doctor strike.
In June, the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford was forced to close several wards and divert ambulances due to a burst pipe.
St Helier Hospital in Sutton had to cancel urgent tests following flooding.
A spokesperson told The Sunday Times: “Our ageing hospitals are deteriorating faster than we can fix them — with issues such as floods, leaking roofs, and broken-down lifts, as well as buildings that have had to be demolished because the foundations are sinking.”
Forty-seven hospitals have also been identified as containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a building material known to be at risk of collapse.
