Calls to speed up 'crumbling' hospital rebuild

Leeds City Council said some parts of the hospital are no longer in use due to crumbling walls and leaks

Council leaders are calling on the government to speed up plans to rebuild a "crumbling" city hospital.

Leeds General Infirmary was one of several hospitals earmarked for development under the Conservatives' New Hospital Programme.

However, the new Labour government put the plans on hold in order to carry out a review of the scheme due to the £22bn hole in public finances it says it inherited.

Leeds City Council said the current state of the hospital was impacting patient care and the delay was causing an estimated £300m in cost.

A report due to go before councillors on Wednesday stated the existing facilities at Leeds General Infirmary were "in serious need of updating" and needed new, modern health equipment.

Parts of the city centre hospital date back more than 150 years, with some areas no longer in use due to leaking ceilings and crumbling walls.

Councillor Fiona Venner said the current state of the hospital was impacting patient care

Plans for a new “state-of-the-art” building include a new children’s hospital, a new adult hospital and a maternity centre.

Outline planning consent was granted in 2020 but work was unable to continue without official approval from the New Hospital Programme and previous government.

In September, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust estimated the delay had put the cost of the scheme in excess of £1.4bn.

Fiona Venner, executive member for equality, health and wellbeing at Leeds City Council, said the delays had been frustrating.

"We urgently need this rebuild because we need a hospital in Leeds that's fit for the 21st Century," she told BBC Look North.

"The council is joining our partners at the NHS to call on the government to accelerate the funding in the new hospitals programme so that we can build a much-needed hospital at Leeds General Infirmary."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves could not confirm whether the LGI project would be one of the schemes set to go ahead

Chancellor and Labour MP for Leeds West and Pudsey, Rachel Reeves said the previous government had given people "false hope" over the delivery of the programme.

"The last government said they were going to build 40 new hospitals - they put no money aside for it," she said.

"We have inherited this situation with a £22bn black hole in the public finances.

"It's a dire inheritance but of course as a Leeds MP I want to make sure that we get the resources that we need in Yorkshire."

Leeds General Infirmary is one of 25 projects currently under review, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.

Work remains ongoing to decide whether these schemes would be "realistic, deliverable and affordable".

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