'Sheffield's hospital repair bill is a failure of government' - opinion
Cllr Sophie Crossthorn of Sheffield Liberal Democrat writes on repair bills at our hospitals
Almost everyone in Sheffield has sat in a hospital waiting room, worried about someone they love.
In that moment, you need to know the place caring for them is fit for the job.
That's why, before the Budget, I called on the Chancellor to fund a plan to fix our hospitals.
As The Star’s report on 31 October set out, Sheffield's main hospitals need £190 million of repairs.
That covers roofs, wiring, ventilation, lifts and fire safety at the Northern General, the Royal Hallamshire and Weston Park.
The hospital trust has confirmed that safety isn't compromised and clinical areas come first.
That's a credit to the staff who keep our hospitals going.
Our NHS team work incredibly hard.
But that job is made harder when the Government refuse to fund them properly.
The NHS's own figures rate £63 million of the £190 million as high or significant risk, the most urgent categories.
The trust was previously given only about £3.5 million a year to tackle it.
Last week's Budget didn't announce anything new, when it needed to.
This isn't a failure of our NHS.
It's a failure of government, after years of underinvestment by governments of both colours.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Supporting our NHS has to mean more than saying how much we love it.
We need a government that's willing and able to deal with the big problems, not just talk about them.
Our doctors, nurses and staff deserve buildings as good as the care they give.
I want the Government to fund the rest of these repairs, starting with the most urgent.The NHS is there for all of us.
It's time the Government was there for the NHS.
Cllr Sophie Crossthorn is Sheffield Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Health and Social Care