Hospitals

Ian Roome Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)]

Laying in an operating theatre, a patient at North Devon district hospital in my constituency can take great comfort in knowing that they are surrounded by some of the most dedicated healthcare professionals in the world. But astonishingly, the operating theatre around them is little changed since it was first built in 1978. The theatre is barely 60% of the size the NHS now expects, and it cannot accommodate more modern equipment. Much of the air-handling system and ventilation infrastructure has either never been upgraded, or is simply beyond repair when it breaks down. That is a critical risk to patient care. North Devon district hospital now has a maintenance backlog of £44 million, over £13 million of which is for its operating theatres alone. There are no independent providers, and the next nearest NHS acute hospital is more than 40 miles away. The trust says that failing theatre facilities are the most urgent threat it faces during the next five years—not 10 years, but five—so what happens next?

Well, we know what happens, because that exact scenario struck Torbay hospital in 2018, with failing air-handling infrastructure closing down a number of operating theatres and causing widespread cancellations of surgery for more than a year. North Devon district hospital faces the same nightmare. Thanks to woeful behaviour by the last Conservative Government, not a single penny was put in place to do something about it. Now the Labour Government say that none of the planned rebuild will be delivered until after 2035. North Devon is one of nine hospitals pushed right to the back of the line by the new hospital programme review, and the Government still fail to recognise the increased maintenance costs that will flow from that decision.

If the Government ignore the symptoms, the problems will only get worse. Our hospital trust has put forward alternative plans for a lasting refurbishment at North Devon district hospital that would cost just £250 million—a fraction of what is really needed, but enough to keep the maximum number of operating theatres open beyond 2027 and avoid spiralling costs down the line. I thank the Minister for agreeing to visit North Devon district hospital to see the facilities and to listen to the trust board’s proposals. I am really grateful to the Minister for listening, but I urge the Government to seize the initiative and act now before it is too late.