“Virtually no chance” for a new hospital says Doncaster Mayor as petition to repair Royal Infirmary is launched

Earlier last week, Doncaster’s Labour representatives launched an action petition to call on the government to fund repairs at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones and Doncaster Central parliamentary candidate Sally Jameson supported the petition as part of a campaign by the constituency’s current MP, Dame Rosie Winterton.

Dame Winterton has been at the forefront of a campaign to get funding from the government to build a replacement hospital, or pay for repair works on the existing site.

The MP has stated that there are around 600 repair works needing to be undertaken at the hospital, which was largely built in the 1960s.

Last week, she arranged a meeting with the Under Secretary of Health and Social Care Lord Markham, to discuss the city’s need for a new hospital.

The visit was joined by all three Doncaster MPs, Mayor Ros Jones and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard.

Sharing the petition on Facebook, Mayor Ros Jones wrote: “What I took away from the visit was that there is virtually no chance for a new build Hospital for Doncaster to be approved under this parliament.

“However, we were able to clearly show the urgent need for repairs to the current DRI estate. As it curently stands, the maintenance backlog, estimated at £118 million has worrying implications for patient and employee safety.

“I ask that UK governmentJeremy Hunt provide the funding at the Autumn Statement to facilitate urgent repairs to Doncaster Royal Infirmary (DRI).”

Labour’s petition can be found here: Labour | Add your name