THE original part of Marlow Community Hospital may not be suitable in its current form health chiefs have been told.

A report, obtained by the Marlow Free Press under the Freedom of Information Act, said use of the 1915 building should be "reappraised".

Heating and electrical systems are "past their design lives" and there had been a lack of planned maintenance, the report said.

Buckinghamshire NHS Primary Care Trust, which manages the Victoria Road hospital, was told £177,326 was needed to meet statutory guidelines for all buildings on the site, including the health centre.

Most of this, £139,900, is to meet disability criteria along with measures to tackle asbestos and legionella risks.

The PCT is spending £794,000 to tackle the issues in Marlow and nine other south Bucks sites this year.

The October 2007 report, by NIFES Consulting Group, said: "A view could be taken that the original 1915 building may not be suitable for its current role.

"This should be taken into consideration when refurbishment is being considered."

The report said of the whole site: "Some of the statutory failings could impact on patient care."

It said: "Many of the paperwork systems are not being compiled or filed in easily locatable systems.

"Many of the statutory failings noted were within the checking and monitoring of equipment, plant and systems, as the surveys carried out were of a non-intrusive nature."

The report said maintenance had been "mainly reactionary" with a "lack of planned" works.

The report demanded "immediate remedial action" over ten asbestos sites. A total £7,900 was needed to meet Health and Safety Executive guidelines, it said.

And there are "many findings that do not comply with current legislation" to combat legionella.

This mostly referred to the need to replace the water system in the 1915 building, it said.

Legionella is a bacteria that can cause Legionnaires' disease, a potentially fatal type of pneumonia found in water droplets.

The most expensive requirement to meet the Disability Discrimination Act was the need to modify or rebuild a ramp to the hospital entrance for £27,500, the report said.

The present ramp is too steep, it said. Other requirements included the need for a dropped kerb by the health centre reception and unsuitable bathroom taps.

Katie Donlevy, PCT director of provider services, said: "We are aware that Buckinghamshire PCT needs to undertake a programme of work during this financial year in order to tackle some of the recommendations from the NIFES reports."

Much work had already been undertaken and a five-year maintenance and renewal programme was being developed, she said.

Issues over buildings in the county made up one of two standards the PCT said it could not meet in its annual declaration to the Government watchdog - the Healthcare Commission. The other regarded staff training in which it met 22 standards out of 24.