South Devon MP Caroline Voaden has condemned the Health Minister for refusing to meet to discuss the future of Torbay Hospital.

Torbay Hospital, which is the third oldest hospital in the country, recently received a fire enforcement notice from Devon and Somerset Fire Service and a warning from the Care Quality Commission about its Tower Block.

These notices could result in up to a quarter of the Hospital’s beds being moved.

Last week, the South Devon MP joined her colleagues in Newton Abbot and Torbay in writing to the Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, demanding additional funding to support the Hospital.

Ms Voaden continued these calls in Parliament on Tuesday, October 20, and received a “dismissive” response from the Health Minister, Karin Smyth.

After dodging the request for a meeting, the Health Minister claimed funding had already been allocated for the Tower Block and noted Torbay Hospital’s place on the New Hospital Programme, which will see repairs begin in 2032 at the earliest.

Though the Hospital received £1.8m in September to support urgent fire safety work, this funding falls well short of the estimated £8m needed to fix the longstanding issues in its Tower Block.

Shortly after Ms Voaden’s question, Torbay MP Steve Darling also asked the Health Minister to meet with him to discuss the crisis facing Torbay Hospital, which the Minister also refused.

South Devon MP Caroline Voaden says: "The Minister has repeatedly refused to engage with either Steve Darling or myself on this issue. She claims she met with Steve and the hospital received some funding - all true, but that was before the Tower Block was ruled unsafe.

“We are now facing the loss of up to a quarter of the beds in the hospital while the tower block is made safe and yet the Health Minister refuses to meet with us or discuss the crisis we are in. It's dismissive and frankly not good enough. I expect better of her and of this government.”