Charing Cross Hospital

02 October 2024

The former Conservative MP for Chelsea and Fulham produced a mountain of literature during the election campaign claiming falsely that he had secured the funding for the rebuild of Charing Cross Hospital.

 

I warned at the time that this wasn’t true and that there was no funding and no timetable for the floor-by-floor refurbishment needed. I pointed out that Charing Cross, along with the other Imperial NHS Trust hospitals at Hammersmith and St Mary’s, had been bounced off the list of 40 hospitals on the New Hospitals Programme (NHP).

 

Since Labour has come into government, we’ve discovered that the truth was even worse than I’d thought. The estimated cost of delivering NHP has risen beyond £20 billion and the previous government didn’t set aside the money for this. 

 

There’s no clearer sign of the damage the Conservatives have done to our NHS than the crumbling hospitals in which patients are being treated. Charing Cross and Hammersmith both need full refurbishments, while St Mary’s desperately needs a total rebuild. 

 

It’s clear that all those Charing Cross Hospital claims by the Conservatives at the election were no more than a cynical attempt to con voters – just like their previous lies denying their plan to close Charing Cross and sell off the site to luxury developers. I’m proud of my role then in working with the Labour Council and residents to save the hospital. 

 

Despite their election defeat, I fear we can expect more of this from the Conservatives. 

 

The entire NHP is now being reviewed by the Treasury and the Department for Health and Social Care. The good news is that Health Secretary Wes Streeting has confirmed that the Imperial Trust sites, including Charing Cross, have been reinstated to the NHP. I’m hopeful he’ll put the hospital rebuild programme back on a sustainable footing, properly funded and clearly timetabled.

 

I’m working closely with Imperial’s chief executive, Professor Tim Orchard, to support the development of a Full Business Case for Charing Cross, alongside the other two Imperial hospitals.

 

I’ll continue to work with Imperial and the Labour government to get Charing Cross modernised and rebuilt as soon as possible.