TAUNTON and Wellington Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to deliver urgent works to repair the leaking and dilapidated maternity block at Musgrove Park Hospital.

According to the Lib Dem, nearly £70 million is needed to clear Somerset's hospital repair backlog.

The total includes £53,856,892 needed at Musgrove Park Hospital and £1,054,111 at Wellington Cottage Hospital.

The local Lib Dems also added that “the national hospital repair bill reached a record high of £11.6 billion, last year, rising by more than £1 billion.

“It comes as the NHS budget was slashed by £5 billion in real terms following the Autumn Statement.

“At the same time, surgery and treatment waiting lists are near record highs at 7.7 million.”

Taunton and Wellington Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to deliver urgent works to repair the leaking and dilapidated maternity block at Musgrove Park Hospital - originally built for the US Army in the 1940s - as part of the urgent NHS repair works needed around the country.

The call is part of a five-point health campaign launched by local Parliamentary candidate, Gideon Amos.

He said: "This Conservative government is letting hospital buildings fall apart.

“The current position could put patients and staff at risk.

“It’s a clear statement of the Conservative government’s neglect of our NHS.

"People in Taunton and Wellington deserve to know that they can go and get the treatment they need in a safe environment, not having to worry that they are being treated in a place that is collapsing around them.

"The Conservative party cannot be trusted with our NHS, and today they can’t even be trusted to ensure basic building standards at our hospital buildings, neither here in Taunton and Wellington, nor around the country.

"Their neglect of our local health services is unforgivable but typical of the Conservative Party which tried to stop the NHS from being introduced in the first place."

Taunton Deane MP Rebecca Pow has said: Rebecca Pow MP for Taunton Deane said: “I was proud to break ground on an £87 million surgical centre here in Somerset last July – a key project I committed to when I was first elected, and I worked hard with local stakeholders to secure the necessary funding.

“The centre will replace hospital theatres, a critical care unit and will include six endoscopy rooms.

“It is a much-needed new facility which will benefit so many and provide a fitting workplace for our hard-working and professional NHS staff.

“This scheme is part of the multi-million-pound upgrade of the entire hospital site for Musgrove, which I was delighted to secure commitment for from Government, and it remains on track for completion by 2030.

“A new maternity unit (where I had all three of my own children) is already part of the next phase of the programme, potentially opening later this year.

“The Government is also committed to reducing the significant backlog of appointments, scans and tests that have built up since 2020 and Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) like the Somerset Community CDC, has already delivered over 86,000 more tests since going live in 2021.

“It is disappointing that the local Lib Dems don’t keep up with and welcome the progress that has clearly been made in recent years nor recognise the additional plans that are already underway in the months and years ahead.”