Lib Dem MP Steve Darling has expressed deep disappointment after the Government confirmed that Torbay Hospital will not see any urgent infrastructure funding. This revelation has left the local community and healthcare professionals frustrated and disheartened.
In a Written Question, Steve asked: “To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of centrally procuring scaffolding to prop up hospitals awaiting funding via the New Hospital Programme. ”
The Minister’s response failed to provide any immediate solutions, merely outlining long-term plans while leaving healthcare professionals, already stretched to their limits, struggling to provide care in a crumbling hospital that continues to be propped up with costly temporary fixes.
Steve has been relentless in his efforts to secure urgent action for Torbay Hospital, spearheading multiple campaigns to highlight the deteriorating conditions at the facility. He has run a widely supported postcard petition campaign, written to the Health Minister countless times, launched an in-depth report outlining the hospital’s dire state (which you can read HERE), met with Karin Smyth MP and challenged ministers directly in the chamber. Despite these persistent efforts, he has been met with nothing but disappointment and government inaction.
The hospital’s decaying infrastructure has caused increasing anxiety amongst staff, with one consultant personally reaching out to Steve after long, exhausting shifts to express frustration over having to spend valuable time searching online for scaffolding to keep parts of the hospital upright. “We might need to go to eBay to look for scaffolding poles! It is all that is keeping the hospital safe for patients and staff.” This scaffolding, which must be replaced every three years, costs millions, draining NHS funds that should be allocated to frontline care and modernisation.
Steve stated: “This government’s failure to act is unacceptable. The previous Conservative government broke their promise to deliver repairs and upgrades for our hospital. The Labour government promised us change but are now letting us down too. Torbay Hospital cannot wait for some distant promise of redevelopment—it is already on the brink. I have fought tirelessly to bring attention to this crisis, but ministers continue to ignore the voices of healthcare workers and the local community. We need urgent investment now.”
With parts of the hospital structurally unsound and urgent repairs repeatedly deferred, Steve and other campaigners are demanding immediate intervention. The ongoing failure to address these concerns comes amid a wider NHS crisis, exacerbating staff shortages, record-high waiting times, and unsafe working conditions. Rather than delivering a long-term solution, the government appears content with merely propping up a hospital that is visibly falling apart.
Steve is now calling for a government review of this decision and emergency funding to address the most pressing infrastructure issues at Torbay Hospital. Without decisive action, the hospital’s condition will continue to deteriorate, putting lives at risk.
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