London hospital buildings in unacceptable state
Looking around the dilapidated wards of Hillingdon Hospital in north-west London, Health minister Karin Smyth says she "knows people deserve better services"."I'm from Hillingdon, so I really do understand the difficulties that staff are working in here," she told BBC London.Hillingdon was the only London trust to get the go-ahead for a new hospital as part of the current New Hospital Programme. Ms Smyth said the state of hospital buildings across London was "unacceptable".London's hospitals have been given about £160m of emergency cash from an Estates Safety Fund to try to keep them running until they can be replaced, but trusts say the money is not enough to cover the repairs needed.
Ms Smyth said: "We know there's been disappointment, a lot of delays, but this new government has got on with the review - we want to see this got on with now."She added: "When we came in as a new government last July, there wasn't funding for any of these schemes beyond March."We understand the disappointment in other communities - but we have sought to put this programme now on a firm financial footing for the first time. That didn't happen before."
Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, east London, is not dissimilar to Hillingdon.Shane DeGaris, the chief executive of Barts Health NHS Trust, described it as having "really substandard facilities".It was due to be rebuilt by 2026, but following a review of the New Hospitals Programme, the work has been delayed. Now the only part to be rebuilt before 2033 is the car park.The trust estimates the delays to rebuilding the hospital will cost £200m.
At St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London, walls are crumbling around patients.The government has delayed the building of a new hospital there until 2035. In the meantime, the hospital's trust has been given £25m from the government for repairs to energy systems, electrical systems, water systems, ventilation systems, fire safety works and drainage works. But this must be shared between St Mary's, Charing Cross and Hammersmith hospitals. The trust estimates it will spend over £100m on repairs at St Mary's Hospital alone until it is rebuilt.
St Helier Hospital, in south London, was given the go-ahead for a new hospital in 2020, but that has now been delayed until 2033. The hospital, which opened in 1941, recently reported having to knock down a ward due to sinking foundations and windows falling out.The trust that runs it, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Our ageing hospitals are deteriorating faster than we can fix them."It estimates the costs of the delays to upgrades needed to both St Helier, and Epsom hospitals will amount to an additional £150m a year.It has been given £12m as part of the Estates Safety Fund. Last month, Ken Welch, former director of facilities, estates and supplies at St Helier Hospital, said the condition of the buildings raised serious concerns."I've seen a lot in 30 years working in the NHS, but the condition of the buildings at St Helier is among the worst," he said."I'm seriously concerned about the risk of fire, particularly with the growing use of corridor care. But most of all, I'm worried about the safety of the patients."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
24 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Public sector struggling to define what a woman is, trans report finds
Public sector workers and trade unions are widely refusing to accept the Supreme Court's judgment on what a woman is, a think tank has warned. A new study by Policy Exchange shows that dozens of organisations across the public, private and charitable sectors have continued to question the legal meaning of 'a woman', despite the ruling. In April, the court ruled that the term 'woman' refers to a biological female in the Equality Act 2010. The decision means trans women, who were born male, should use men's toilets, changing rooms and other single-sex spaces, contradicting the previous stance of a string of public sector organisations. Policy Exchange's report, the fifth edition of its 'Biology Matters Compendium', compiles examples of organisations refusing to acknowledge the legal force of the court's judgment. These include universities, professional bodies and several trade unions, along with other public bodies. Rosie Duffield, the gender-critical MP who left the Labour Party last year, hailed the report and said it showed that 'radical positions on gender identity have become deeply embedded and it will be the work of years to rectify it'. Ms Duffield wrote in the foreword: 'There should be no illusions that this is over: there will be many more battles to fight before women's sex-based rights are secure.' Lara Brown, the author of the report, said that 'despite progress, our latest edition of the Biology Matters Compendium reveals there is still a great deal of ideological capture in the policy and practice of many public institutions'. 'The defence of sex-based rights does not end with a court ruling. It requires persistent scrutiny, open debate, and the courage to challenge ideological orthodoxy – wherever it may reside. This compendium finds that in this domain, there is still much more to be done.' The report notes that at least seven major trade unions have appeared to question the ruling in recent months. Unison, one of the UK's largest unions, and the University and Colleges Union, which represents academic and support staff in further and higher education institutions, have warned of the judgment's 'harmful implications'. The Fire Brigades' Union has said in response to the ruling that 'the law is not always on the right side of history'. The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef) released a statement on social media saying that it 'recognises the distress and uncertainty that the Supreme Court's ruling about the definition of sex in the Equality Act 2010 has caused to trans and non-binary communities.' The union declared: 'We have a proud history of championing the rights of our trans and non-binary members and we continue to stand in solidarity with them.' A collection of unions, including Unite, the civil service union PCS, the RMT and the BFAWU, a food industry union, have staged marches against the Supreme Court's decision, with one leading figure declaring that 'the trade union movement will protect and stand with trans people, whether the law cares or not.' Policy Exchange's report also draws attention to professional bodies such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy continuing to describe gender self-identification as 'valid'. After the Supreme Court judgment, a number of public bodies announced plans to change their policies on gender recognition. Within days, the British Transport Police announced that trans women could in future only be strip-searched by male officers. The NHS was also told by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the equalities watchdog, to change guidelines that did not fit the newly clarified legal settlement. The Football Association announced that athletes would have to compete in their biological sex categories, going forward. But other bodies were more reluctant to accept the ruling. The British Medical Association, the doctors' union, branded the Supreme Court's decision 'scientifically illiterate'. Meanwhile, the National Police Chiefs' Council said it would 'not rush' to change rules on strip-searching in order to fall in with the court's decision.
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Thousands join anti-austerity march in London to protest against Labour's cuts
Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday calling for an end to public service and welfare cuts, in the first big anti-austerity march under Keir Starmer's Labour government. The campaign group People's Assembly, which organised the demonstration, called on the government to 'tax the rich and their hidden wealth to fund public services'. The People's Assembly said it was bringing together trade unionists, health, disability, housing and welfare campaigners with community organisations under the slogan: No More Austerity 2.0. Writer Kate Hardie, 57, was among those marching to Whitehall. She had voted for Labour in every election since she was 18, including last year, but said she will no longer support the party under Starmer. 'I worry about the fact that this government is making cuts that are unnecessary. People are really suffering because of it,' she said. She has friends who are disabled, who were 'devastated' when cuts to personal independence payments (Pip) were announced. 'It isn't just about my friends, because if we only vote for the people that we know, we're in trouble,' she added. Hardie was also dismayed over the prime minister's widely criticised 'island of strangers' speech, which was likened to the rhetoric of Enoch Powell. 'There's the problem of cuts and a problem with rising hate in this country and around the world,' she said. 'It's not just financial, it's also ideological and about how we treat each other.' She thinks the government's current approach will bear little fruit electorally. 'Why would you go and see a tribute band if you can get the real thing? It's not gonna work, it's ridiculous.' Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union, said: 'People are very disappointed in this government. Whether it has been cuts to winter fuel, the two-child benefit cap still being in place, we haven't seen enough investment. 'We appreciate that the government have a tight fiscal window to operate in, but we think they need to tax the wealthy more and start investing in communities.' He said the 'commitment to roll out free school meals to all families in receipt of universal credit' was welcome but called on the government to 'go much further much faster because the only person who is benefiting from cuts to communities is Nigel Farage'. Holding a sign calling for landlords to be taxed – including herself, Corinne Richeux, 57, who runs an NGO based in China, said: 'I'm really worried about the state of the country and I don't think British people can take austerity any more. We need a real radical change of direction and we need to tax the rich to make it happen. 'I think that many rich people would support more taxation. I think it's cowardly of the Labour government to pander to the rich when the people are really struggling.' She said she 'was shocked when the first thing they did was to start slashing benefits'. 'I kind of hoped that he was keeping his cards close his chest and that he was planning on taxing the rich when he got into office. I wasn't expecting it to be quite so bad.' Labour-run councils were also a target of criticism. Helen Davies, 59, a social worker, chanted in support of bin workers in Birmingham, who have been striking since January. On central government, she said: 'It's not what we expect from a Labour government. The social inequalities are being driven harder, there has to be a positive alternative to that.'
The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
Zia Yusuf returns to Reform UK just 48 hours after quitting
Zia Yusuf is returning to Reform UK as leader of the Elon Musk-inspired Doge unit, just 48 hours after resigning as chairman. Yusuf attributed his initial decision to quit to exhaustion and abuse following criticism of his remarks about new Runcorn MP Sarah Pochin. He said he was motivated to return after receiving supportive messages from Reform members and speaking with Nigel Farage. Yusuf clarified that his resignation was not due to strong views on the burqa, despite feeling blindsided by Pochin's question about banning it at PMQs. Farage said Yusuf had "snapped" after receiving racist abuse on social media, blaming the "very hard extreme right" for the abuse.
