£72 million needed to fix crumbling hospitals in Shropshire
More than £70 million is needed to fix the backlog of repairs at hospitals in Shropshire, new analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found.
29 Dec 2023
£54 million repair bill at Shropshire hospitals revealed
22 Nov 2022
More than £54 million is needed to repair crumbling buildings and clear the maintenance backlog at Shropshire’s hospitals, new analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found.
Meanwhile, the part of the NHS which covers hospital buildings is facing a £700 million cut in Government funding.
The small print of last week’s Autumn Statement revealed the cuts to the Department for Health’s capital spending budget next year, which is used for buildings, facilities, and infrastructure.
In Shropshire the outstanding repair bill is £54.7m, with two thirds of this taken up by the county’s two emergency hospitals.
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has £23.4m worth of outstanding repairs and Princess Royal Hospital needs £15.7 million of work. Meanwhile the Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen is waiting on £11.95m of repairs.
There is £3.6m of work outstanding across Shropshire Community Health Trust’s sites, which include Whitchurch Hospital and Bridgnorth Hospital.
Nationally the cost of the repairs backlog has been revealed by the NHS estates review as an astonishing £10.2 billion. It comes alongside news that the NHS waiting list has hit 7 million people, with more than 53,000 patients stuck waiting for treatment
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan is calling on the Chancellor to halt his plans “to make patients and staff pay” for the Conservative government’s “economic mess”. The Lib Dems are proposing urgent investment in local hospital buildings to ensure they are safe and can function effectively.
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan said:
“Just like waiting times, the repair bill for our crumbling hospitals is getting bigger and bigger. Unsurprisingly, people are worried about the conditions their loved ones are being treated in.
“Now the Government wants to make patients and staff pay for their economic mess and are cutting the budget to make essential repairs. Shropshire deserves better.
“The chronic state of disrepair in our local hospitals is a scandal in itself. But it is also a symptom of the Conservative government’s dire mismanagement of our NHS.
“People in North Shropshire are fed-up of waiting hours for an ambulance and months for a hospital referral only to then be seen in an outdated and decaying building.
“The fault lies squarely at the feet of Conservative ministers. It is their inaction and disinterest in the health service which has led us to this disastrous point.
“Instead of inflicting more damaging and dangerous cuts, the Government should lay out a plan to recruit the staff we need to get these repairs done.”
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