County Councillor Lizzi Collinge, Lancashire Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing, has welcomed the news that the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria has stated its preference for new hospitals on new sites for both Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital, as part of the New Hospitals Programme.
“I am pleased to see an ambitious preferred option from the New Hospitals Programme,” she aid, “which backs up our district’s need for state of the art hospital facilities and improved access to healthcare in the community.
“I have been able, through the Lancashire Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee, to really interrogate the evidence and the programme leaders and I am convinced that two new hospitals, on two new sites, really is the best plan. I am happy that they listened to me and my residents who clearly did not want one ‘super hospital’ to serve both Preston and Lancaster, as was on the original longlist of options.
“There is still a lot of work to do to make sure any new sites are accessible to everyone and that they support a move to zero-carbon healthcare in all aspects, whether that be anaesthesia choices or transport options.
“The current RLI estate is in a terrible state and simply isn’t good enough for our residents or the NHS staff, particularly estates maintenance staff who have to try to make often decrepit areas safe and functioning for patients and staff. The Royal Preston Hospital also suffers from an estate packed into a relatively tiny site with buildings often not fit for purpose. Both sites suffer horrendous traffic and parking issues which spill over into local residential areas.
“What local residents need now is the Treasury to make a financial commitment to fund these plans, the programme having been subjected to multiple delays in getting a concrete financial settlement. The Government has made promises to voters that they would deliver new hospitals. Now they need to put their money where their mouth is.”
The Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme is part of the Government’s commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030. Together with eight existing schemes, this will mean 48 hospitals built in England over the next decade, the biggest hospital building programme in a generation. Find out more on the ‘Improving NHS infrastructure’ website.
• Read more about the plans announced here on virtual-lancaster
• Find out more about how you can get involved