Health Minister visits busy hospital ahead of potential rebuild.

Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock visited Whipps Cross Hospital after its condition was raised by Conservative Member of Parliament for Chingford and Woodford Green at Prime Minister's Questions.

Mr Duncan Smith has fully supported a redevelopment funding bid for the hospital of £350 million capital funding.

He said: "I was delighted the Health Minister accepted my invitation to visit.

"As the local MP, part of my commitment to secure a better future for Chingford & Woodford Green is to fully support the building of a new Whipps Cross Hospital and I will continue to support our NHS by working with the government, Council and Whipps Cross to secure the redevelopment of our hospital.

"This visit was a tremendous opportunity to show why the funding for Whipps Cross is needed and a regional priority for North East London.

"The Secretary of State, Matt Hancock was able to talk to various department teams during the tour of the hospital and took part in an open staff Q&A session. I would like to thank everyone in involved for the warm welcome we received during our two hour visit."

Mr Hancock saw some of the issues facing the hospital such as patients that have to be wheeled across an open-air footbridge to and from surgery when a lift breaks down.

A new Accident and Emergency department opened in 2012 and some wards and theatres have been modernised, but staff say a new hospital is vital.

Only 11 per cent of beds are in single rooms whereas modern hospitals have about 30 to 35 per cent.

Barts Health NHS Trust wants to redevelop the site to benefit the local community and provide a 21st century healthcare facility to meet the healthcare demands of the local population, as well as, develop over 1,000 new homes, including many NHS keyworker homes.

Mr Hancock told staff: "There is clearly a need for improvement to the estate of this hospital. That is evident to anybody walking around it.

"We have given Whipps Cross the go-ahead to take their planning for a redevelopment to the next stage. The amount of capital money there is for new hospitals will be in the spending review, but I can see the case for modernisation of Whipps Cross."