– Local hospitals need £104,678,822 to clear their repair backlogs

– It comes as the amount needed for hospital repairs across the country reached a record high of £11.6 billion – up over £1 billion on this time last year

£104,678,822 is needed to clear Sandwell’s hospital repair backlog, new analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found.

It comes as Sandwell General Hospital is causing great concern in West Bromwich with the patients potentially being treated in unsafe buildings. 

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

Sandwell Liberal Democrats are calling for the government to provide urgent investment in local hospital buildings to ensure they are safe and can function effectively. 

Liberal Democrat spokesperson for West Bromwich, Mark Smith said:

“This Conservative government has let our community’s hospitals fall apart. The backlog of repairs is putting the patients and staff in West Bromwich at risk. It is completely unacceptable and utterly disgraceful that it has been allowed to come to this.

“People in West Bromwich 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, as can be seen by their attempts to sell off health services to American corporations, and cannot even be trusted to ensure the basic safety of staff and patients.

“Their neglect of our local health services to drive people use private health care is unforgivable.”