A banner still adorns St Helier Hospital saying the redevelopment is ‘coming soon’…. The much-anticipated £219m redevelopment of St Helier Hospital is ‘probably’ off the table, a shock announcement has revealed recently. The multi-million pound investment in the hospital was hailed as a ‘real victory for local residents’ when it was unveiled in 2010 including a brand new state-of-the-art hospital building, hundreds more beds and a new day nursery.

But an announcement today from the MP for Mitcham and Morden, Siobhain McDonagh, revealed the promise is unlikely to go ahead.

A letter sent to Mrs McDonagh, on January 24, from the chief officer of Merton Clinical Commissioning Group, Eleanor Brown, said the plans would need commissioner support as well as additional revenue costs which would “probably be unaffordable in the current financial context”.

She added: “It is for this reason that the re-development does not feature as one of the Long-Term Financial Modelling (LTFM) scenarios being worked up by the trust at this stage.”

The business plan was approved in 2010 by the government with chancellor George Osborne announcing the plans were safe amid concerns that it could be compromised during government cut-backs.

Over the last few years St Helier Hospital has been hampered by the Better Services Better Value healthcare review which has twice threatened to axe the its A&E, maternity and children’s services.

The £219m was put on hold as a result but today’s news is the first real indication the hospital will no longer receive the promised funds.

Miss McDonagh said: “This news represents an appalling betrayal by this government. St Helier is clearly still under threat of losing our A&E, maternity and other services, and now the redevelopment promised 4 years ago by the previous Government has also been taken off the table. Anyone who thinks the battle to Save St Helier is being won needs to think again, and the whole community must step up the fight to save this popular local hospital.”