St Mary’s Hospital faces significant repair delays, casting doubt on its future and the impact on local healthcare services.
Paddington: So, there’s some pretty worrying news about St Mary’s Hospital. The NHS Trust is saying it might not even make it to the 2040s without some serious repairs. And guess what? The government just announced that those repairs won’t even start until 2035. Yikes!
Professor Tim Orchard, who runs the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, called this news devastating. It’s not just a blow for the hospital but for everyone relying on healthcare in the area. St Mary’s, along with a couple of other hospitals, is part of a government plan to build new hospitals, but it looks like that plan is falling apart.
Originally, the government promised 40 new hospitals by 2030, but now it seems like that’s not happening. The National Audit Office has already warned that the deadline is likely to be missed. And with Labour now in charge, they’ve started reviewing the whole program, which is a bit of a mess.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was shocked to find out that the funding for these projects was basically nonexistent after March. He described the whole situation as built on “false hope.” The three hospitals in question, including St Mary’s, are now in the last wave of construction, which won’t even kick off until 2035 or later.
St Mary’s is particularly in bad shape, with some buildings being around 180 years old. The Trust estimates that every six-month delay could cost an extra £63-£73 million. They’re looking at a total cost of about £2.5 billion for the repairs, but they think they can offset some of that by selling off land they won’t need anymore.
Professor Orchard is really pushing for quicker action. He mentioned that St Mary’s is London’s busiest major trauma center, treating over a million patients a year. He’s hoping they can find alternative funding and make the most of the land they have.
It’s a tough situation, especially since Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has the largest repair backlog in England, sitting at a whopping £393 million. That’s about 20% of the national total! It’s clear that something needs to change, and fast.
