Town hall deputy claims Tory MP ‘deeply disingenuous’ over hospital promises

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter

A promised refurb of a crumbling London hospital may not happen before 2030 despite claims from an MP that it will.

Chelsea and Fulham MP Greg Hands has been accused of being “deeply disingenuous” about the fate of refurbishments at Charing Cross Hospital after the plans were pushed back beyond 2030.

Ben Coleman, who is vying for Mr Hands’ seat, claimed there was no money set aside to carry out the much needed works by the end of the decade and called on Tory MP to withdraw leaflets claiming it had been.

Mr Coleman, who is also the deputy leader of Hammersmith and Fulham council, said: “Mr Hands is being deeply disingenuous. In his leaflet, he says he has secured funding for the floor-by-floor refurbishment of Charing Cross.

“This is not true. He has not secured funding. The truth is there is no money set aside, no timetable for [a] floor-by-floor refurbishment.”

A leaflet distributed over the weekend showed Mr Hands standing outside Charing Cross Hospital with the words: “Funding Secure. We’re investing in a floor-by-floor refurbishment of Charing Cross Hospital. Delivering our plan for Chelsea and Fulham”.

The brochure claimed a new energy centre was being built to “make Charing Cross hospital greener, sustainable and more cost effective”.

It also quoted the Health Minister saying that the “full refurbishment of Charing Cross Hospital” and St Mary’s would continue.

However, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust said it has not received a single penny of Mr Hands’ alleged funds.

A source at the Trust said health bosses have not yet submitted a business case for a major refurb and were confused as to how the local MP was able to secure funding for a project that had not been assessed by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

The DHSC is in charge of handing out funds as part of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) to build 40 new hospitals across England by 2030.

The Trust also claims it is unaware of money being made available for a new energy centre, which would need to be built before a major refurb takes place.

They said the funding for Charing Cross Hospital’s rebuild “lacks clarity” and that the vast majority of capital needed – which is in the billions – won’t be available until 2030.

Mr Coleman also accused the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, of scrapping the major refurb during Thursday’s announcement in parliament.

Steve Barclay told the Commons the hospital, alongside seven others, were being bumped to a “rolling programme” because of delays associated with Covid and inflation.

But a source at the Trust claims the planned works cannot go ahead until new funding is released, which isn’t expected before 2030.

DHSC said no money can be set aside until Imperial Trust submits its business case for a major refurb. It has promised to allocate funds following the next spending review.

Mr Hands said: “It is absolutely outrageous for Hammersmith and Fulham council to be using council taxpayers’ resources to be putting wholly wrong claims that the floor-by-floor refurbishment has been scrapped, just hours after it was confirmed by the Health Secretary in the House of Commons, by Twitter and by thousands of emails to residents.”

Mr Hands did not respond to the claim that funding for Charing Cross Hospitals’ refurbishment had not been secured.

A Hammersmith and Fulham council spokesperson said: “The government has scrapped its pledge to refurbish Charing Cross and stopped vital planned improvements to other West London hospitals.”

A spokesperson from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust said: “We are at an early stage of planning for the major Charing Cross Hospital refurbishment/new build scheme within the New Hospital Programme – we are on track to submit the first level business case for approval this autumn. We do not yet know when we will be able to start work.”

Professor Tim Orchard, chief executive of Imperial Trust, said last week’s announcement by Mr Barclay did not “reflect our understanding of next steps on the urgently needed redevelopment of our hospitals.”

Pictured top: Chelsea and Fulham MP Greg Hands and the leaflet he handed out promising a refurbishment at Charing Cross hospital (Picture: UK Parliament, LDRS)