Analysis by the Liberal Democrats has shown that Guy’s, St Thomas’, and King’s College Hospitals need a collective £426,656,645 to clear the repair backlogs of their hospitals.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust, which includes some hospitals outside of the Southwark area, needs over £450 million, the second highest repair backlog bill for a trust in the country.
The national hospital repair bill reached a record high of £11.6 billion, last year, rising by over £1 billion. It comes as the NHS budget was slashed by £5 billion in real terms following the Autumn Statement.
At the same time, surgery and treatment waiting lists are near record highs at 7.7 million.
Southwark’s Liberal Democrats are calling for the government to provide urgent investment in local hospital buildings to ensure they are safe and can function effectively.
Deputy Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Rachel Bentley said:
“This Conservative government has let our community’s hospitals fall apart. The backlog of repairs is putting the patients and staff in inner South East London at risk. It is completely unacceptable and utterly disgraceful that it has been allowed to come to this.
“People in Southwark deserve to know that they can go and get the treatment they need in a safe environment. Not having to worry that they are being treated in a place that is collapsing around them.
“The Conservative party cannot be trusted with our NHS and cannot even be trusted to ensure the basic safety of staff and patients.
“Their neglect of our local health services is unforgivable.”
