MP's figures show local hospitals in poor state of repair

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 21st Feb 2005

The amount that needs to be spent in order to bring hospitals in South West London up to standard has more than doubled since 2001, to over £35 million.

Figures obtained by local MP for Sutton and Cheam, Paul Burstow, show the backlog of maintenance costs for hospitals in Sutton's Strategic Health Authority (SHA), South West London. In 2001 it was estimated that over £17 million needed to be spent on buildings and repairs; in 2004 this had increased to over £35 million.

Paul Burstow commented:

'These figures show a worrying backlog of essential maintenance work that needs to be carried out in local hospitals.

'This is yet another example of how targets aren't working. Interference from ministers means hospital managers are forced to meet short term targets to the neglect of long term planning. The result is unsafe, under-equipped local hospitals. We cannot hope to improve patient services if hospital buildings are not maintained to even minimum standards.'