A VISIT by Sir Michael Spicer to Malvern Community Hospital has strengthened his view that a replacement is urgently needed.

The West Worcestershire MP said the tour of the Lansdowne Road hospital last Saturday (December 14) reinforced his anger that the decision to build a new hospital at Seaford Court, on Worcester Road, had suffered repeated setbacks.

"At the very, very least what the hospital needs now is a tremendous facelift," he said.

Supporters of a new hospital had been expecting a decision to be made at a meeting of South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT) earlier this month. However, delays over the trust's financial situation mean nothing will be decided until February at the earliest.

Sir Michael has written to PCT chairman David Barlow several times demanding an explanation as to why the trust has a projected budget overspend of £5 million.

On Monday (December 16), he hit back at calls by Mr Barlow to stop publicising their exchange in the media and engage in private briefings with the PCT.

"I don't consider private briefings to be a proper substitute for a public discussion of public finances," he said.

Last month, Mr Barlow refuted Sir Michael's accusation of mismanagement, attributing the overspend to an increase in the cost of drugs and the financial deficit inherited from the former Worcestershire Health Authority, following the restructuring of the health service earlier in the year.

In a second letter, Sir Michael said he did not understand how Mr Barlow could refute his claims.

"If you knew about the financial deficit at the beginning of the year, why was no remedial action taken at a point when it would have had some effect on the budgetary outcome?" he wrote.

On Thursday (December 12), Mr Barlow offered to give Sir Michael as many briefings on the situation as he required..

Sir Michael said: "I've always spoken in public about hospital facilities in my constituency and will continue to do so."