Shadow health secretary labels 'sticky plaster politics' as key reason for NHS building issues in Bucks and beyond

The shadow health secretary has said some of the blame for NHS struggles could be put down to 'sticky plaster politics'.

A new BBC report has found that hospital services in Buckinghamshire are in need of expensive high risk repairs totaling £100 million.

Speaking at Milton Keynes Hospital yesterday (21 February), Wes Streeting said some of the institutional issues at the NHS could be linked to cost-cutting and short term fixes authorised by the current Government.

In response to the report, which found that £80 million would be needed to repair High Wycombe General Hospital, he said: “I definitely think that there are big issues with the NHS estate and the fact that we’ve seen hospital buildings and other parts of the NHS estate literally allowed to crumble.

"And we’re now spending so much money on patching up and sticking plaster politics, which is what I think has characterised the Conservatives over the last 14 years, rather than getting the fundamentals right and making sure we’ve got a serious long-term plan.

“This is an issue right across the county, right across the country. I’m here today with Chris and Emily (Curtis and Darlington, Labour Parliamentary candidates for Milton Keynes North and Central respectively), but if I was with Emma Reynolds in High Wycombe she would be saying the same thing about local hospital services, local GP and mental health services there.”

Data from the BBC showed that Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust had the fourth largest high-risk repairs backlog in England, according to data collected between 2022-2023.

The backlog stood at £100,800,283 during this period, the BBC Shared Data Unit has found.

The trust said many of its buildings ‘do not meet the needs of modern-day healthcare’ and included Stoke Mandeville Hospital as one of these structures.

The trust said in a statement: “The Wycombe Hospital site has an unaffordable backlog of maintenance requirements, around one hundred million pounds worth, £80 million of which is related to the tower.”

Labour has pledged to double the number of CT and MRI scanners in the NHS if it gains power in the next year, to manage increasing GP diagnosis backlogs.