Taunton and Wellington’s MP Gideon Amos has welcomed news of interim funding for Musgrove Park Hospital but says more has to be done.

The Health Secretary announced in January that construction of a new maternity unit at the hospital will not start until “2030 to 2035”.

It has now been announced that three Somerset hospitals – including Musgrove – are to receive a total of £8.5million.

The funding from the Government’s Estate Safety Funds is to be used for “improvements to water systems, energy systems, electrical systems and external and internal building fabric and fixtures. Fire safety works.”

Mr Amos said: “I pledged that Musgrove Park Hospital and its vital need for investment would be my number one priority.

“This £8.5 million, largely for Musgrove Park, is no substitute for the new maternity unit that we need, but this marks a first small victory for that campaign which is vital given the recent decision to transfer maternity cases to Taunton from Yeovil.

“I’ll continue to work with other Lib Dem MPs to make sure our NHS once again becomes the pride of our country as it has been in the past.

“That will require significant funding and I won’t stop pushing the government to go further to make that happen.”