Call for investment in 'crumbling' Torbay hospital

MP Steve Darling (bottom left) wants Health Secretary Wes Streeting to visit Torbay Hospital

A Devon MP has urged the health secretary to visit a "crumbling" hospital which he said was in desperate need of renovation.

Steve Darling said Torbay Hospital was in a "dire and critical condition" with sewage leaks and structural problems and he called on Wes Streeting to take a look "without delay".

The previous Conservative government had promised a complete rebuild of the site but the current Labour administration said the £350m project cannot be delivered yet, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The Department of Health and Social Care said it had already confirmed a funding plan and "realistic time-frame" to rebuild Torbay Hospital.

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust declined to comment.

Darling asked people in Paignton to sign a letter which demanded investment into the hospital.

He said unless urgent action was taken, the consequences for patients and staff at the hospital could be severe.

"The feedback we're getting from our community is that once people are in the hospital receiving the service, they are glowing about the support that they receive from our NHS heroes," Darling said.

"But those heroes are having to work in appalling conditions and this cannot continue."

'Fit for the future'

The government said it had inherited a "broken NHS" service with hospital estates left to crumble.

It said £30bn was being invested over five years for maintenance and repairs, with £5bn set aside for the "most critical cases".

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the New Hospital Programme had also been put on a "sustainable and realistic footing" with work at Torbay Hospital expected to start at some point between 2032 and 2034.

"Work is getting under way as we build an NHS estate fit for the future," the spokesperson added.

"We have already confirmed a funding plan and set a realistic timeline to rebuild Torbay Hospital and will work closely with the local trust to make this happen."