MP Slams ‘Patchwork Repairs’ as local Hospitals Face £150m Backlog
Liberal Democrat MP for Epsom & Ewell, Helen Maguire, has criticised the government’s response to the mounting repair crisis at Epsom and St Helier hospitals, warning that the very future of local NHS services could be at risk without urgent and substantial investment.
Speaking in the House of Commons this week, Maguire welcomed a recent £12.1 million allocation for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust but described the sum as “a drop in the ocean” compared to the scale of need.
“Our current maintenance backlog alone amounts to £150 million,” states the St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group (GESH), which manages the trust. “We estimate our backlog maintenance will rise by £180 million over five years — or £36 million per year.”
During Health and Social Care Questions in Parliament on 17 June, Maguire challenged Health Secretary Wes Streeting to visit the hospitals and witness conditions firsthand. “Patients and staff deserve safe and modern facilities, not patchwork repairs,” she told MPs.
Read the full exchange in Hansard
The Health Secretary acknowledged the scale of the challenge, saying both he and the Minister for Secondary Care, Karin Smyth MP, had met with local MPs about the issue. He cited a £207 million capital allocation to the NHS South West London Integrated Care Board — covering the broader region — and reiterated that the government was “reversing the trend” of underinvestment, blaming the previous Conservative government for leaving “a £37 billion black hole in NHS capital.”
However, Maguire was left unimpressed by the response.
“It is disappointing that the Health Secretary ignored my invitation to come down and see firsthand the scale of the challenge at Epsom & St Helier,” she said after the debate.
“If he spent a day in the shoes of one of our exceptional doctors or nurses, caring for patients amidst crumbling walls and leaking ceilings, I’m sure he too would share the grave concerns that I and my Liberal Democrat colleagues Bobby Dean MP and Luke Taylor MP have for our local hospitals.
“£12.1 million does not even begin to touch the sides compared with what our hospitals need right now.”
The MP also stressed the importance of not placing all hope in the new specialist emergency care hospital planned for Sutton. “Alongside the new hospital building in Sutton to ease the pressure on Epsom & St Helier, patients and staff deserve safe and modern facilities wherever they go, not just patchwork repairs and more uncertainty from this Government.”
A Local Crisis in Numbers
- £150 million – current maintenance backlog at Epsom & St Helier Trust
- £36 million/year – projected additional maintenance need over next five years
- £12.1 million – recent government funding allocated to the Trust
- £207 million – total capital funding to South West London Integrated Care Board
Background: New Hospital, Old Buildings
Plans for a new £500 million specialist emergency care hospital in Sutton — part of the controversial Health Infrastructure Plan (HIP) 1 scheme — have been met with both cautious optimism and concern that core services in Epsom and St Helier will be reduced.
Epsom and St Helier hospitals serve an ageing population, and the majority of the estate dates back to the early to mid-20th century. Campaigners have long pointed to leaking roofs, outdated infrastructure, and chronic staff shortages as urgent priorities.
While some capital funding is being made available for immediate safety needs, campaigners and local MPs argue that unless major investment is directed to the existing hospitals, they will continue to deteriorate, placing patients and staff at risk.
Photo: Maguire MP abseiling St Helier Hospital
