Fears Torbay Hospital upgrade could be shelved

MP calls for promises to be kept

There are fears that badly needed replacement buildings at Torbay’s crumbling hospital could be shelved as the government clamps down on spending.

Now the bay’s new Liberal Democrat MP has called on the chancellor to keep the promises made by the previous Conservative administration.

Steve Darling, who overturned a large Tory majority to oust previous MP Kevin Foster at the general election last month, says he wants to see Torbay Hospital prioritised following the chancellor’s statement to the House of Commons on the financial situation facing the country.

Rachel Reeves announced that a number of infrastructure projects are at risk of being cut, and a review into the funding of plans for 40 new hospitals.

The proposals were announced in 2020 by then-prime minister Boris Johnson, who said the hospitals would be delivered by 2030. Torbay was named as part of the £3.7billion package of pledges.

Mr Darling said his constituents “cannot wait any longer”, warning that without the investment, Torbay would continue to suffer from poor quality facilities. He  plans to lobby his constituency’s case with the health secretary.

He said: “We must be clear. The Conservative party’s economic vandalism decimated the public finances, left our services in tatters, and stretched household budgets to breaking point.

“Sadly, it now appears the Conservative promise on new hospitals was not worth the paper it was written on.

“My constituents have been crying out for the upgrade Torbay Hospital so desperately needs. This vital project must go ahead. The situation at Torbay Hospital is critical, with 80 per cent of the hospital estate being of poor or bad quality, sewage leaks in the main tower block, and concrete deterioration similar to RAAC in parts of the estate dating from the 1960s.”