Outrage at Somerset's hospital repair backlog

Nearly £70 million is needed to clear Somerset's hospital repair backlog, new analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found.

The total includes £53,856,892 needed at Musgrove Park Hospital and £1,054,111 at Wellington Cottage Hospital.

The national hospital repair bill reached a record high of £11.6 billion, last year, rising by more than £1 billion.

It comes as the NHS budget was slashed by £5 billion in real terms following the Autumn Statement.

At the same time, surgery and treatment waiting lists are near record highs at 7.7 million.

Taunton and Wellington Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to deliver urgent works to repair the leaking and dilapidated maternity block at Musgrove Park Hospital - originally built for the US army in the 1940s - as part of the urgent NHS repair works needed around the country.

The call is part of a five-point health campaign launched by local Parliamentary candidate, Gideon Amos.

He said: "This Conservative government is letting hospital buildings fall apart. The current position could put patients and staff at risk. It’s a clear statement of the Conservative government’s neglect of our NHS.

"People in Taunton and Wellington deserve to know that they can go and get the treatment they need in a safe environment, not having to worry that they are being treated in a place that is collapsing around them.

"The Conservative party cannot be trusted with our NHS, and today they can’t even be trusted to ensure basic building standards at our hospital buildings, neither here in Taunton and Wellington, nor around the country.

"Their neglect of our local health services is unforgivable but typical of the Conservative Party which tried to stop the NHS being introduced in the first place!