Labour has pledged to build a new hospital in Hillingdon by the end of their first term in Government – just weeks before a crucial by-election in the constituency.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the new facility in Boris Johnson’s former constituency would be built by 2028 if the party won a General Election next year.
The hospital was rated “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission following an inspection in 2018.
Plans for a new hospital were approved by Hillingdon Council in January and it is named in the Government’s New Hospitals Programme. Minister recently confirmed that it would be rebuilt by 2030.
Mr Streeting visited the hospital on Monday afternoon alongside Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Uxbridge, Danny Beales.
After touring the building and speaking to staff, Mr Streeting told Sky News it was “by far the worst hospital I have ever seen”.
“Staff are working in intolerable conditions, patients are sweltering in intolerable conditions on such a hot day.
“I think it's outrageous, actually, that the Conservatives have lumbered the people of Hillingdon with such an unacceptable building for so long. I mean, it resembles a Dad's Army site.”
More than 31,000 people across Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Trust are awaiting treatment including more than 800 children, according to the latest NHS figures.
The average wait for a hospital appointment is 17 weeks – three weeks longer than the national average.
Mr Streeting told the Standard: “The Conservatives have failed the people of Uxbridge and South Ruislip yet again. No new hospital built, the NHS is crumbling and patient safety in Hillingdon is put at risk every day.
“Enough is enough. An incoming Labour government will deliver a new, state of the art hospital for Hillingdon. This will be done in the first term. No ifs, no buts, no more broken promises. Uxbridge and South Ruislip deserves better.”
A by-election will take place in the constituency on 20 July after Mr Johnson’s departure from the Commons.
