Oral Answers to Questions

Sally Jameson Excerpts

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I honestly cannot believe the brass neck of Conservative Members; their time in government led to the longest waiting times and lowest patient satisfaction in the history of the national health service. The best news I can offer the shadow Minister, and others like her who are on a waiting list, is that we have a Labour Government who are reducing waiting lists for the first time in more than 15 years.

[Sally Jameson (Doncaster Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

6. What steps he is taking to help reduce the repair backlog at Doncaster Royal infirmary.

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

We inherited a crumbling NHS estate. Many hospitals, including Doncaster Royal infirmary, are in a state of disrepair, thanks to the shocking record of the last 14 years. When I visited Doncaster Royal, I saw at first hand the outstanding care staff are providing despite significant infrastructure challenges. That is why the Government have supported Doncaster and Bassetlaw trust with £19.8 million in national funding to redevelop the critical care unit, and another £3.2 million from the estate safety fund for fire safety work. We have also provided nine years of certainty for maintenance budgets, allowing trusts to plan strategically and deliver further improvements.

[Sally Jameson]

As the Minister outlined, Doncaster was badly let down under the previous Administration, when after much fanfare and promise we were left off the new hospital programme. Since then, the trust has been working on revised capital projects to keep it going in the interim period, including a much-needed rebuild of the east block. Will the Minister continue to work with me and the trust to deal with the critical state of DRI?

[Karin Smyth]

My hon. Friend has been the most tireless campaigner on this issue since coming to the House in July 2024, so of course I will continue to work with her to support her local hospital. The previous Government neglected the NHS: those buildings were left to crumble and their new hospital programme was neither affordable nor deliverable. We are committed to reversing that decline and repairing hospitals like Doncaster Royal infirmary. That is why the trust will receive over £105 million in operational capital across the next four years to be allocated to local priorities, including repairs at Doncaster Royal infirmary.