The government has finally stumped up the funding for a new hospital in Sutton and the refurbishment of St Helier Hospital. But there is still no clear timeline of when work will take place and it will be at least four years, if not longer, until the new hospital will be ready.
St Helier Hospital, which is plagued by leaks and crumbling buildings that have seen wards forced to shut in recent months, will get a revamp. The separate emergency hospital will include an accident and emergency department, critical care, acute medicine, emergency surgery, inpatient paediatrics and a maternity unit.
The South London project is expected to cost £500million and was approved back in 2020 but no progress has been made since then. The original date for completion was 2025 but now the earliest it would open is 2027.
It is part of the government’s New Hospital Programme which it confirmed it would invest £20 billion in on Thursday (May 25). The news was welcomed by the local NHS.
In a joint statement, bosses of South West London NHS, Sarah Blow and Mike Bell, said: “We know our frontline NHS staff will be delighted with this long-awaited news. This commitment from government will ensure our residents get the care they need, in buildings and facilities fit for the delivery of modern healthcare.”
Earlier this week Merton Council announced it would commission an independent assessment of plans to move vital services away from St Helier Hospital. Responding to the latest announcement, council leader Ross Garrod said the council’s position is the same – that it wants to see A&E, maternity and paediatrics kept at St Helier.
The Labour leader said: “Urgent investment is needed now to fix the poor state of repair that the St Helier Hospital buildings are in, so that hard working NHS staff can care for the patients who rely on these vital services at our much-loved community hospital.”
Conservative MP for Carshalton and Wallington, Elliot Colburn, said he was “delighted” with the announcement following reports of disrepair at St Helier. He said: “As recently as this week I was pressing ministers on the urgent need to get the ball rolling in a debate on local healthcare.
“I was born in St Helier, many of my family were born in St Helier, and not so long ago it saved my life.
“This is a deeply personal campaign for me, and I will continue to press ministers to ensure these plans are carried out as effectively and timely as possible.”
