Crumbling South London hospital 'not fit for purpose' and puts patients at risk says ex estates manager

St Helier Hospital's crumbling infrastructure is placing patient safety in jeopardy, according to its former estates manager.

These concerns follow the government's decision to push vital redevelopment back to the 2030s following a review of the New Hospitals Programme.

Despite being older than the NHS itself, years of underinvestment have seen the Sutton hospital deteriorate. Leaking ceilings, broken lifts, sinking floors and corridor care have all become normal for all visitors to St Helier.

Now, former staff, patients and the local MP Bobby Dean fear that the hospital itself could soon pose a health risk.

"I've seen a lot in 30 years working in the NHS, but the condition of the buildings at St Helier is among the worst," said Ken Welch, the hospital's former Director of Facilities, Estates and Supplies. "I'm seriously concerned about the risk of fire, particularly with the growing use of corridor care. But most of all, I'm worried about the safety of the patients."

Flooding shut St Helier hospital's blood department on January 13, cancelling many patients' tests (Image: Liberal Democrats)

Earlier this year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) revealed that the hospital's blood department was forced to shut down after serious flooding hit the phlebotomy unit on the ground floor of Ferguson House. Dozens of patients had their blood tests cancelled at the last minute, with no choice but to reschedule.

This was not the first time patients have been impacted by the hospital's crumbling and unreliable infrastructure. Kate, a mother from the surrounding area, described the difficulties she faced at St Helier when her newborn son and elderly father both required emergency care within days of each other.

She told the LDRS: "The care received from individuals at St Helier Hospital can't be faulted, but the system is failing them. The hospital is not equipped with adequate facilities or staff to cope with demand. The doctors and nurses cannot provide the care they obviously want to give.

"We had to take my son to St Helier Hospital at two days old due to a lack of midwives to carry out home visits. The lift was out of action, so we had to climb the stairs. The hospital as a whole is run down and tired; in any other setting, this building would not be fit for purpose.

Large parts of the site are in severe disrepair, with leaking ceilings and sinking floors among the most common issues (Image: Liberal Democrats)

"The week my son was born, my 80-year-old father ended up in St Helier. When I arrived, he was in a corridor slipping out of a wheelchair. I was heavily pregnant and worried he was going to fall off, so I kept asking staff for help. They were so busy we were fobbed off, but eventually taken to triage.

"Minutes after being released to the main waiting area, he was taken to resus as his heart wasn't beating correctly. I dread to think of the outcome if I hadn't been there to ask for help."

Hospital upgrade is still 8 years away

Hopes for a new and long-awaited Specialist Emergency Care Unit next to St Helier Hospital were dashed in January when the Labour government announced it would postpone the plans to 2033.

This comes despite a 2019 pledge by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson to provide £500 million for a new hospital in Sutton under the nationwide New Hospitals Programme.

That cost has now ballooned to between £1.5 billion and £2 billion. The Labour government has since dismissed Johnson's hospital-building pledges as "a work of fiction", throwing the future of St Helier into uncertainty.

Former estates manager Ken Welch said the conditions at St Helier Hospital were among the worst he's seen (Image: Liberal Democrats)

During Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions (May 14), Bobby Dean MP pressed the Prime Minister to take immediate action. "They have a very real fear that some of the buildings on the existing estate are at risk of catastrophic failure before the decade is out," he said.

"Can the government reassure me that they will work with the local trust on the plan to maintain and adapt the existing estate to ensure that St Helier can survive all the way through the major works completed?"

In his response, Keir Starmer promised Dean a meeting with Health Secretary Wes Streeting to discuss the issue and blamed the previous Tory government for letting residents down by giving promises they were never going to deliver."

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