Sutton residents will have to wait until 2032 for the planned upgrade to Sutton Hospital, and the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust (ESTH) is grappling with a £150m maintenance backlog and a £5.7m deficit.
The delay and the financial strain were revealed at a meeting of the Sutton Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday 10 December 2025, where Alex Shaw, Interim Managing Director ESTH, presented an update on the trust's operations. The agenda for the meeting also included a flood risk management update.
According to the report presented to the committee, the government has pledged £12 million of investment in the current state of the hospitals, with £7.6m of this set to go towards St Helier Hospital. However, this figure is significantly below what is needed to maintain the current estate, citing a maintenance backlog of £150m.
The report to the Scrutiny Committee also outlined other key issues for the trust:
- Finance: The Trust has submitted a deficit financial plan of £5.7m for 2025/26. This is predicated on a significant Cost Improvement Programme of £67.7m and deficit support funding of £41.6m. The report noted that achieving this plan will be very challenging. While the report (Public reports pack) does not explicitly detail the factors contributing to the £5.7m deficit, it suggests that rising costs are a factor, stating that
Although we have received more funding for 2025/26, it will not keep up with rising costs.
- The Estate: The report outlined how the government's pledge of £12 million to invest in the estate at Epsom and St Helier will be allocated, while noting that is significantly below the investment needed to cover the current maintenance backlog (£150m).
