Calls for new Stockport hospital as MP says Stepping Hill ‘not fit for purpose’
There are calls for a new hospital in Stockport after a local MP said Stepping Hill is "not fit for purpose".
Tom Morrison, MP for Cheadle, said the borough needs a "modern" new healthcare facility to serve residents, alongside "desperate" repairs for Stepping Hill which has faced major problems with its estate.
The Outpatients B department at Stepping Hill was forced to close in November, after an inspection found 'significant deterioration' in the structure of the building.
Since then, the hospital has been plagued with other issues, including collapsing ceilings and flooded corridors.
It was first opened in 1905, and employs around 6,300 members of staff.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Morrison said: "The desperate issue is getting Stepping Hill repaired so staff and patients have somewhere that's fit for purpose.
"But the long-term ambition has to be a new hospital. Stepping Hill can't carry on in the grounds it is in, we need a modern hospital building."
Calls for a new hospital in the borough have also been made by Stockport MP Navendu Mishra and Hazel Grove MP Lisa Smart.
In May, Mr Mishra raised the issue at Prime Minister's Questions in Parliament, asking Rishi Sunak if the situation at the site was the result of "14 years of successive Conservative failure."
He told the LDRS: "There are almost eight million people on the waiting list for NHS treatment and tackling that is a priority, but it's also about securing the future of a first class medical facility [in Stockport]."
After Ms Smart was elected in the general election in July, she wrote a joint letter with her Cheadle Lib Dem colleague asking the health secretary to take "urgent action" over the state of Stepping Hill.
In 2021, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and Stockport council shared plans for a new hospital facility based at the town's former Debenhams store.
A bid was made to fund this work from a £3.7-billion programme for 40 new hospitals by 2030 under the former Conservative government – but Stepping Hill did not make the list.
This scheme was placed on review by the new Labour government, which recently promised to provide funding for Stepping Hill to tackle the issues at the site.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "The previous government's commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 is undeliverable and unaffordable. The funding allocated by the previous government runs out in March.
"We must reset the New Hospital Programme to put it on a sustainable footing, following persistent delays and cost overruns.
"We are therefore launching a full review of the programme to provide a thorough, costed and realistic timeline for delivery and to ensure we can replace the crumbling hospital estate in England.
"This government is determined to be honest with people about what can be delivered, and not let them down again."
A Stockport NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said it is in talks about potential sources of funding to improve its facilities in future.
They added: "Our ambition remains to obtain funding to replace some of our old building stock, which would enable us to provide our services and care our local population needs from a modern setting which is fit for the future."
Cllr Keith Holloway, Stockport council's cabinet member for health and adult social care, said: "We continue to work with Stockport NHS Foundation Trust to look at every opportunity to give our residents access to the best health and care.
"Our ambitious plan for the future, Stockport One Future, sets out how we will achieve this and includes a new proposed hospital and health hub at the heart of the town centre."
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