Conditions at Stepping Hill Hospital are forcing staff to care for patients in 'buildings that are literally crumbling around them', an MP has claimed.

Cheadle MP Tom Morrison said there is a 'desperate need' for new investment in the hospital which first opened in 1905 and sees around 500,000 patients a year.

Officials at the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust warned in 2024 that repair costs had spiralled to more than £130m as the "aged and deteriorating" buildings continued to cause alarm.

But a solution has yet to be found for the future of the hospital.

Councillors in Stockport are due to debate a motion about the state of Stepping Hill on Thursday this week, with calls to 'to urgently fund repairs' at the facility.

Lib Dem MP Tom Morrison, a former councillor in Stockport, said: "Our NHS staff at Stepping Hill have been working miracles in buildings that are literally crumbling around them.

Lib Dem MP for Cheadle Tom Morrison has said there is 'desperate need' for new investment at Stepping Hill Hospital (Image supplied)

"I've spoken to nurses who've had to move patients because of water coming through the ceiling. It's simply not good enough – not for our staff who give everything every single day, and certainly not for our residents who deserve so much better.

"While 40 hospitals across the country were chosen for restoration funding, Stepping Hill was left out."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "This government inherited a broken NHS, with the hospital estate left to crumble.

"We are providing Stepping Hill Hospital with over £2.5 million this year for targeted essential safety works, including fire safety improvements. In addition, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has been allocated over £75 million over the next four years which can be used to improve conditions at Stepping Hill.

"We're investing £30 billion nationally over five years for maintenance and repairs, and we will provide the investment and reform needed to get patients the care they deserve, in hospital buildings fit for purpose."

The Stockport NHS Foundation Trust was approached for comment.

The Stockport council motion being discussed on Thursday claims that Wes Streeting MP, who is the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and Karin Smyth MP, the Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care), have been invited to visit the hospital but have so far failed to do so.

Mr Morrison added: "It's deeply disappointing that ministers have been invited to see these conditions for themselves but haven't found the time to visit.

"If they did, they'd understand why this can't wait any longer. I fully support Thursday's motion calling for the government to finally give Stepping Hill and Stockport the urgent investment we desperately need."

Stepping Hill Hospital (Image - Nub News)

Dominic Hardwick is a Lib Dem Councillor in Stockport representing the Norbury and Woodsmoor ward, and also serves as chair of the Stepping Hill area committee.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The substandard condition of Stepping Hill Hospital has been well publicised for a long time as a shameful legacy of the previous Conservative government.

"Corridors prone to flooding and ceilings collapsing have caused significant disruption to patient care.

"Not only does working around this take up a huge amount of staff time, it is simply unacceptable that staff are forced to work in such conditions.

"The urgency of the situation is clear as day to anybody who goes through the doors, which is why we have repeatedly invited Wes Streeting and his colleagues to come see it for themselves.

"We are asking the government to finally address the condition of Stepping Hill, to build the new health and care centre the borough desperately needs, and to fund the improved coverage of GPs and NHS dentists. We sincerely hope this does not fall on deaf ears in Westminster."

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