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MP to meet Streeting to discuss LGI repair backlog

BBC Alex Sobel stands in front of the Houses of Parliament wearing a grey suit, white shirt and floral golden tie.BBC
Alex Sobel MP said he wanted to ensure patient safety was maintained despite the delay

Leeds MP Alex Sobel has said he will meet with the health secretary to discuss the maintenance backlog at Leeds General Infirmary, after plans to redevelop the hospital were delayed.

Wes Streeting announced on Monday the proposed rebuild of the site would not begin before 2030.

Hospital bosses have previously said the cost of repairs to the ageing estate was estimated at more than £650m.

Mr Sobel told the BBC ensuring patient safety was not compromised by the delay would be top of the agenda.

A large building site in the middle of Leeds surrounded by buildings
A proposed new hospital building site at Leeds General Infirmary

Reacting to the announcement, the Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley said: "The site is ready, the hospital is ready and we know we need the facilities, so I'm very much hoping to see how we can ensure that we get the hospital completed as quickly as possible.

"Many services particularly children's services are really, really dependent on having the site completed.

"Leeds Teaching Hospitals has got one of the biggest maintenance backlogs in the country because it's got such an old estate - parts of the LGI date back to the 1840s, well before the NHS.

"That is something that he promised to meet with me and the hospital about to ensure that we can look at maintenance, ensure that hospital services can keep going at the LGI while we wait for the rebuild."

Image shows picture of a treatment room, with a sink in the corner and treatment bed in the centre of the room. Rubble has fallen onto the floor and bed, there is a hole in the wall close to the sink and a plastic tarpaulin covers the ceiling.
Some parts of the site are no longer used by patients due to leaking ceilings and crumbling walls

Plans to redevelop LGI were first announced in 2018, but on Monday it was announced that construction would not start until some time between 2032 and 2034.

This came after the previous Conservative government promised improvements to be completed 2030.

The proposals include building a new children's hospital, a new adult hospital and a maternity centre, as well as wider plans to develop a "Leeds Innovation Village" that would attract research and jobs.

Professor Phil Wood, chief executive of the LGI said the delay was a "bitter pill to swallow".

"We deliver complex regional services maintaining safety, dignity - ensuring our patients are getting the best and our staff have the best environment to work in," he said

"All of that's made much more challenging by the delay."

The Labour leader of Leeds City Council, James Lewis expressed "disappointment" that work would not start on the re-build until later than expected.

Meanwhile, his Conservative counter part Alan Lamb said "disappointment is underplaying it," calling it "disastrous for Leeds and the Leeds economy".

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