MK Labour have accused local Conservative MPs of failing to ensure that the local NHS has enough funding, after figures released today show MK Hospital is the worst performing in the country.

Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) has been named the worst performing hospital for patients having to wait over 18 weeks for planned routine treatment. Over 60% of local people wait more than 18 weeks for care.

Local Labour politicians have singled out the Conservative MPs for Milton Keynes as responsible, after promised investment in the hospital has failed to happen, with a new Women and Children’s Wing years behind schedule and underfunded.

During the 2019 election the Conservatives promised a new hospital for Milton Keynes, which was later scaled back to a new wing. Recent papers discussed by the hospital trust board show funding allocated for the new Women’s unit in 2019 would no longer be enough to deliver the facility.

MK Labour have also linked the crisis to overstretched GP services in the city with only a handful of surgeries now taking new patients, highlighting that when people wait longer to see their GP, the more serious health issues can become.

They contrast the dire investment in the hospital and the performance of the MPs with the record of the Labour-led council, who over the past few years have opened two new health centres, are currently building a third and have promised to deliver three more if they win the local elections in May. Plans for the council to help fund extensions to existing surgeries in Olney, Bletchley and Great Holm were rejected by the government last year.

Labour politicians have however praised hospital managers and staff for their hard work and dedication in the face of the pressures being faced by the NHS.

Cllr Emily Darlington, MKCC Cabinet Member for Health and Labour Candidate in MK Central, said:

“Our Conservative MPs have failed our city and broken their promises. In 2019, they promised a new hospital for MK. They have haven’t delivered it. The new Women and Children’s Unit they proposed instead is years behind schedule and massively underfunded. While the wait for a new hospital facilities goes on, the reality is that people in MK are now waiting longer, in pain, for treatment. It is an awful situation”

Callum Anderson, Labour candidate for Buckingham and Bletchley, said:

“After 14 years of a Conservative government, the NHS is on its knees and the people of Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas are paying the price with the longest waits for treatment in the country, waiting in pain for months. The record of our Conservative MPs is shameful and its clearly time for a change.”

Chris Curtis, Labour candidate for Milton Keynes North, said:

“Our local NHS is only being held together by the hard work and dedication of the doctors, nurses, staff and managers of the NHS. They are working in difficult conditions. We have total confidence that the fault for this situation lies with the Conservative government and our MPs failing our city. Nationally they blame doctors and nurses for the problems, but there hasn’t been any industrial action at MK Hospital. The reality is our local NHS is underfunded and broken.”

Cllr Marland, Leader of Milton Keynes City Council said:

“We all know that after 14 years of the Conservatives the NHS is in crisis. A Labour-run city council has continued to invest in our local health services using the funding growth brings us, delivering new hospital wards and GP facilities. However, recent attempts by the council to help extend GP services have been blocked by the Government. While the MK Conservatives talk about infrastructure, they never deliver. We are clear if we win the local elections in May, we will seek to deliver three new health hubs across MK to help sort this problem out.”