Government rules out cash for crumbling hospital

MPs have urged the government to rethink the refusal of cash for hospital repairs

The government has ruled out giving extra cash to help pay for repairs at a crumbling hospital where ceilings have collapsed and corridors flooded.

Health minister Karin Smith said the state could not afford to foot the £130m bill to refurbish Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport due "constrained" public finances.

A recent report found about 70 per cent of the hospital site, which is visited by half a million patients a year, was in need of major repairs.

Local Liberal Democrat MPs Tom Morrison and Lisa Smart urged the government to rethink the refusal and said work on the site was "essential".

The pair had written to health secretary Wes Streeting to call for urgent action over the poor state of Stepping Hill when they were newly-elected in July.

An outpatient department was condemned at the site in 2023 and subsequently demolished, while the intensive care unit was closed due to roof leaks.

It is estimated the hospital, which is run by Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, faces a maintenance backlog of about £134m.

Hospital bosses have previously said the £14m given to trust each year was not enough to deal with problems across the site, part of which dates back to 1905.

'Bitterly disappointed'

In a letter responding to the two Lib Dem MPs, Smyth said she was "deeply concerned" about the condition of Stepping Hill.

But she said the government "cannot commit to additional funding at this stage due to constraints on capital availability in the fiscal position this government has inherited".

The health minister added that position could change if any "emerging in-year flexibilities or opportunities" arise.

Morrision, the MP for Cheadle, said it was "incredibly frustrating" for staff and patients that "vital funding" had been refused.

He said local residents would "no doubt be bitterly disappointed", and urged the government to "get our hospital the money it needs to be repaired and put back in working order".

Meanwhile Smart, who represents Hazel Grove, said it was "poor, and hugely disappointing decision".

"My constituents deserve world class facilities but instead we're left with a crumbling hospital that is, in part, older than the NHS itself."