Patients 'at risk' in hospital with £130m repair bill

MP'S FEARS OVER BUILDINGS ‘OLDER THAN NHS'

- DECLAN CAREY

PATIENTS could be 'at risk' at a Stockport hospital where the repair bill has climbed to more than £130 million, an MP has claimed.

Cheadle MP Tom Morrison said the growing number of problems at Stepping Hill Hospital are leading to worse services and hurting staff morale. The former Lib Dem councillor has urged the government to rethink its decision to rule out providing funds for the site, after research revealed thousands of patients at the hospital are facing waits of longer than 12 hours.

According to data from the House of Commons Library, 9,535 people waited for more than 12 hours for treatment at Stepping Hill between January and September this year, which Mr Morrison said shows the 'urgent' need to tackle the problems at the hospital.

"There is no doubt that the issues at Stepping Hill are actively leading to greater wasting lists, whilst also lowering staff morale and putting patients at risk," he added.