Staff forced 'to use buckets to catch water' dripping through Greater Manchester hospital's ceilings

There are calls for new funds to save a "crumbling" Stockport hospital in need of repair.

Problems at Stepping Hill Hospital saw one its departments shut in November due to 'significant deterioration', with appointments disrupted and relocated to new clinics.

Plans are in place to build new wards to help with the situation, but politicians in Stockport have called on the government to provide additional money.

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Stockport MP Navendu Mishra raised the issue in Parliament this week during a debate about hospital repairs.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The deterioration of the hospital's estate is an urgent and ongoing problem.

"I raised the unacceptable state of Stepping Hill Hospital - which after fourteen years of government neglect and underfunding is quite literally crumbling - in the House of Commons.

"The issues are another demonstration of the detrimental impact that Conservative mismanagement has had on the NHS, denying patients the high-quality care they deserve, and NHS staff the facilities they need to deliver this care.

"The Government must listen to my calls for the capital investment that Stepping Hill requires."

Stepping Hill is part of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which includes a number of other hospitals and health clinics in the borough. It treats around half a million patients each year and is staffed by more than 6,000 people.

Despite its importance to the region, a Stockport councillor said the hospital has been left underfunded for more than ten years.

Tom Morrison - who's also the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Cheadle, said: "The outpatients building closed because it is unsafe, staff are having to put out buckets to catch rain water dripping through the ceilings, and important operations are being delayed because of building works.

"The Conservatives need to stop passing the buck and give Stepping Hill the money it needs to to be repaired and bring it into the 21st century. No more excuses, we need action now."

Speaking in Parliament about Stepping Hill, Victoria Atkins MP - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - pointed out that the government has invested £4.2 billion to integrated care boards this financial year, and that local investment decisions should be taken at a local level.

The Department for Health and Social Care and Stockport NHS Foundation Trust were contacted for comment.