A TORY MP has been met with reactions of disbelief and laughter after she claimed her government delivered “40 new hospitals” during an appearance on Question Time.
Lucy Frazer, a Levelling Up minister, appeared on the BBC programme which took place in Dulwich on Thursday night.
When answering a question on how her government was going to tackle the NHS and social care crisis, she said: “There are many ways of treating people. So, we have committed money to diagnostic centres, we’ve got 40 new hospitals.”
“We’ve got 40 new hospitals” says Tory 'Levelling Up' minister Lucy Frazer on #bbcqt. “This is just nonsense. There are no 40 new hospitals” say members of the panel in response. pic.twitter.com/zf3Sd3hqL4
— Gerry Hassan 🇺🇦 (@GerryHassan) October 27, 2022
TalkTV host Julia Hartley-Brewer then interrupted Frazer to say: “We haven’t got 40 new hospitals. That’s a load of nonsense.”
Question Time host Fiona Bruce asked: “Sorry, did you just say we have 40 new hospitals.”
It is only then that Frazer revealed what she really meant by the comment.
“There is a commitment to do 40 new hospitals,” said Frazer to reactions of laughter from the audience.
Labour MP David Lammy took the minister to task on her comments.
He said: “This is just nonsense, there are no 40 new hospitals.
“And you cannot cut local authority budgets by up to 40% and expect people not to get out of hospital. They’ve got nowhere to go, that’s why we’ve got a social care crisis. So, it’s not just the NHS.”
Frazer replied: “You can get really angry about it, David, but we’re investing.”
The minister is then interrupted as Lammy states that he is only angry “on behalf of his constituents” as the audience clapped in agreement.
The Conservative pledge to deliver 40 new hospitals was first included in Boris Johnson’s 2019 election campaign manifesto.
However, it has been previously criticised for counting new hospital wings or major refurbishments as “new” hospitals.
A study from the health think tank the Nuffield Trust found that the majority of the Government’s projects were rebuilding already existing hospitals, with just three new hospitals actually included in the plans.
