New St Helier funding won’t touch the sides:
Lib Dems call for urgent action to protect patients
Merton Liberal Democrats welcome the Government’s recent announcement of £12m in funding for St Helier hospital, after years of campaigning for urgent action to address crumbling facilities and dangerously long A&E waits.
But St Helier’s repairs backlog is enormous, and this funding will barely begin to cover the costs. At a scrutiny meeting with Merton Councillors earlier this year the NHS reported that St Helier has a repair backlog of £200m.
Meanwhile, Labour’s plan to delay major works at St Helier until the 2030s puts the hospital’s future at serious risk. Without urgent action, corridor care and failing infrastructure will continue to harm patients.
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to act now, by funding full repairs, tackling the maintenance backlog, and bringing forward the construction of the new hospital promised by the previous Conservative Government.
Merton Liberal Democrats' spokesperson on health and Cannon Hill Councillor Jenifer Gould said:
“Patients in Merton and across South West London can’t afford to wait for access to safe, modern hospitals.”
“This funding is a start, but will not even begin to cover the essential upgrades needed to bring St Helier up to the standard our community deserves.”
Fix our local hospital NOW!
St Helier Hospital is falling apart. Patients and staff are at risk every day. But the Labour Government have kicked fixing it into the next decade.
The Conservatives promised to rebuild St Helier but they failed to deliver. After years of Conservative lies and failure, this just isn’t good enough.
The previous Conservative Government made promises they knew they couldn’t deliver when they pledged a new hospital building by 2025. The money was never there.
Now the Labour Government have left us on a crippling waiting list - with no hope of getting St Helier fixed until 2032 at the earliest.
Liberal Democrats in Merton are campaigning to get urgent investment in to St Helier now so that patients can be treated in safe, modern buildings starting this year, not next decade.
The Liberal Democrats used Opposition Day in Parliament - Wednesday 23rd April 2025 - to force a vote on the government’s decision to delay vital works at hospitals in the New Hospitals Programme, including St Helier Hospital.
Read about it here…
Invest in St Helier hospital urgently
Liberal Democrats in Merton are campaigning to get urgent investment in to St Helier now so that patients can be treated in safe, modern buildings starting this year, not next decade.