CLAIMS made by a Conservative election candidate that a new hospital will be built on the Island have been rubbished by the Isle of Wight NHS Trust.

Speaking on BBC Politics Live this morning (Wednesday), Suella Braverman, who is standing for re-election in Fareham, spoke of 'spades hitting the ground' imminently.

If the Conservative Party wins the General Election, it has pledged to build 40 new hospitals. It said six of those would be built before 2025, in London, Harlow, Leicester and Leeds. The locations of the other hospitals have not been confirmed.

Boris Johnson spoke about the plans on last night's televised leaders' debate.

However, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust said there were no plans for a new hospital on the Island.

It is possible Ms Braverman was confusing her party's proposal for new hospitals with a previous pledge to invest £850 million in improving 20 hospitals across the country.

St Mary's Hospital is one of them, and will receive £48 million.

A spokesperson for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust said: “The trust has been allocated an additional £48 million in capital funding for improvements to buildings and IT.

“We are working with our partners on the Island and the mainland to understand how this money could be used to have the greatest impact for the local community.”

Conservative candidate for the IW, Bob Seely, said: "Suella was referring to the fact that the Isle of Wight NHS is benefitting from a £48 million capital investment, as announced in the summer. 

"That money will be used to deliver significant improvements to the Emergency Department and to drive forward innovative ways of caring for Island patients."

The Conservative Party has also come under fire for misleading the public after changing the name of its twitter account to factcheckUK during the leaders' debate. Twitter said it would take action if the move was repeated.

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