Stockport MPs demand Budget action on Stepping Hill

The desperate situation at Stepping Hill Hospital must be addressed in next week’s budget, say Stockport MPs Lisa Smart and Tom Morrison.

With reports of a £130 million backlog of repairs at the hospital, the recent letter from Health Minister Karin Smyth stating that the Labour Government would not currently be putting any more money into the repairs was met with disappointment and anger.

Lisa Smart MP said: “This budget is the opportunity for the Labour Government to turn the corner on hospital funding. In the first four months of this Government, what we have seen is far too much ‘more of the same’.

“We can all see the impact of the years of underfunding by the last Conservative Government with our own eyes – the flooded corridors, failing fittings and collapsing ceilings. We need change.”

There was no mention of additional funding in the budget in the letter from the Department of Health, and pre-budget briefings have so far focused on saving money, rather than allocating it to urgently needed hospital funding.

Tom Morrison MP added: “I want to see the Chancellor stand up next week and prioritise social care and the NHS. The Labour Government has held back – we called for an emergency budget immediately after the election. 

“They have taken their time on this – the residents of Stockport deserve to see the results, and that is a clear plan for immediate repairs at Stepping Hill, and a long-term solution with a new additional hospital site in the town centre. We have put both forward, and Labour need to deliver the funding.”