TAUNTON'S new MP has vowed to fight for new facilities at the town’s hospital after the new chancellor of the exchequer announced a review of the UK’s hospital building programme.
Musgrove Park Hospital was one of 40 hospitals which were to be rebuilt, enhanced or replaced as part of the new hospitals programme (NHP) instituted by Boris Johnson’s government in October 2020.
The new Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves MP announced on Monday afternoon (July 29) that the NHP would be extensively reviewed in a bid to control public spending, accusing the previous Conservative administration of giving people “false hope” about their public services.
Gideon Amos, the newly-elected Liberal Democrat MP for Taunton and Wellington, has vowed to ensure that the ongoing construction work at Musgrove can continue and that future upgrades (such as the new maternity unit) will be funded to delivery.
Addressing the House of Commons on Monday (July 29), Ms Reeves said: “In October 2020, the government announced that 40 new hospitals would be built by 2030.
“Since then, only one new project has opened to patients, and only six have started their main construction activity.
“The National Audit Office was clear that delivery was wildly off track, but since coming into office, it has become clear that the previous government continued to maintain their commitment to 40 hospitals without anywhere close to the funding required to deliver them.
“That gave our constituents false hope. We need to be straight with the British people about what is deliverable and what is affordable, so we will conduct a complete review of the new hospital programme, with a thorough, realistic and costed timetable for delivery.”
Construction recently began on a second multi-storey car park at Musgrove after planning permission was granted by Somerset Council in late-June.
This new car park is part of the conditions for the new £87m surgical centre, which is currently under construction following the Treasury’s approval of the final business case in January 2021.
Mr Amos – who was elected with a majority of nearly 12,000 at the recent general election – said he would be meeting with health secretary Wes Streeting MP as soon as possible to discuss the future of Musgrove.
He said: “On Musgrove Park Hospital and its urgent need for a new maternity unit, I am very concerned to see that, so far, the new government is just as non-committal as the previous Conservative one – although at least the new chancellor isn’t making the same way out and unfunded promises about building 40 entire new hospitals.
“I’m meeting with the secretary of state for health in the near-future to make the case for Musgrove Park, and I’m seeing the directors of the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust this week by way of preparation.”
Musgrove’s maternity services have come under intense scrutiny in recent months, with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating the department ‘inadequate’ following an inspection in November 2023 – an inspection which raised similar concerns at Yeovil Hospital and the Mary Stanley unit at Bridgwater Community Hospital.
The trust stated in May that it had made significant improvements since the inspections were carried out and that further enhancements would be carried out in the coming months.
Mr Amos added: “Our manifesto proposed taxing the big banks and energy companies to pay for the desperately needed maternity unit and to improve GP and dental services generally.
“That’s what I’ll be putting to the secretary of state when I meet him and that’s the case I’ll be putting every day in parliament.
“I was elected to champion Taunton and Wellington above anything else and I’ll keep working on the need for improvements at Musgrove Park Hospital until its future is secured.”
The trust said it was awaiting the outcome of the government’s review and was not able to formally comment until this had been completed.
A spokesman for the Department for Health and Social Care: “The previous government’s commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 is undeliverable and unaffordable.
“The funding allocated by the previous government runs out in March.
“We must reset the new hospital programme to put it on a sustainable footing, following persistent delays and cost overruns.
“We are therefore launching a full review of the programme to provide a thorough, costed and realistic timeline for delivery and to ensure we can replace the crumbling hospital estate in England.
“This government is determined to be honest with people about what can be delivered, and not let them down again.”
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