MP calls for more funding to tackle trust backlog

Helen Maguire, the MP for Epsom and Ewell, raised her concerns in the House of Commons

A Surrey MP is calling for extra funding to tackle a backlog of appointments at a local NHS trust.

Helen Maguire, the Liberal Democrat MP for Epsom and Ewell, told the House of Commons she was grateful for £12m of extra funding given to Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals.

However, she added: "This is quite frankly a drop in the ocean in comparison to the scale of need."

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he understood the challenges the trust faced, but added that reversing years of underfunding would take time.

In January, Dr Beccy Suckling, associate medical director at the trust, said St Helier Hospital in Carshalton had a series of problems including windows that could not close properly.

She said more than 600 operations had to be cancelled in 2024 because of ventilation issues in its theatres.

Dr Suckling believed the age of the building - which was completed in 1942 - was the root cause of the problems.

In May, St Helier Hospital's former estates manager said the site's crumbling infrastructure was "among the worst" in the NHS.