New Health Minister put on notice over Stepping Hill Hospital

Local MPs Lisa Smart and Tom Morrison have immediately written to newly appointed Health Secretary Yvette Cooper to raise the outstanding £138 million repair backlog at Stepping Hill Hospital, which remains their number one priority. 

Their first action when the Starmer Government formed was to write to new Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and they have set out her stall to apply the same pressure to the incoming Secretary of State.

Lisa Smart said: “This is an opportunity for the Government to reset their priorities. People need to know that when they need the NHS, it is in a good enough condition to be there for them. 

“It cannot be the case that the Government continues to ignore this massive backlog in repairs at the site. The hospital was not included in Starmer’s 10 year plan, and it must be put on a priority list of improvements.”

Significant improvements to the hospital have been delivered in the last two years, with the completion of the “Emergency and Acute Care Campus”, a new Outpatients B building, and most recently the new Macmillan Cancer Centre. 

Lib Dem MP Lisa Smart continued: “It is great to see these new facilities come online, but this repair backlog shows the state of the older buildings – some of which are older than the NHS itself. 

“I want the Government to commit to a second site for Stepping Hill, which is the practical step needed to be able to bring the hospital up to the standard that these new facilities set.

“The appointment of Yvette Cooper is a real opportunity to make this happen. But we have had two years of inaction from Labour, and the clock is ticking.”