MP 'outraged' at delays to East Sussex hospital improvements
Works at three sites aren't now due to begin until 2037
Eastbourne's MP has expressed his 'outrage' that the town's District General Hospital has been 'put to the back of the queue' when it comes to improvements.
Improvements at the site were part of a proposal to build 40 new hospitals across the UK, first announced by the previous Conservative government in 2019.
They had been due to be completed in 2032.
But Health Secretary Wes Streeting has now set out a new timetable which would see the works there pushed back to 2037 and potentially as far as 2039.
The Government has announced it is setting aside between £1.5 billion and £2 billion pounds on works at the DGH and other sites run by the East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, including Conquest Hospital in Hastings and the Bexhill Community Hospital.
Mr Streeting said the new timetable was "honest, funded and can actually be delivered".
He added: "It is a serious, credible plan to build the hospitals our NHS needs."
Speaking after the announcement in Parliament, Josh Babarinde of the Liberal Democrats said he welcomed news of funding after years of campaigning.
Bur he attacked the Government's decision to keep improvements until the very last stage of their development programme.
"Our hospital bosses have said in a recent report: “The age and standard of current hospital buildings presents challenges for the consistent delivery of safe, effective, responsive and efficient care.”
"We need clearly investment now, that's why I’m therefore asking ministers when I meet them head-on tomorrow (Tuesday 21st): Will the Government reconsider these timelines? If not, how does the Government propose we cope in the meantime?
"When the investment does come, what will the precise amount be?
"And will the Government guarantee that a new hospital actually means a new hospital, unlike the last Government’s definition which included refurbishments?"
Greatest Hits Radio has reached out to Bexhill and Battle MP Kieran Mullan and Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore for comment.