New Lancashire hospital delays 'disappointing'

The start of building work on two new hospitals for Lancashire has been delayed by up to 10 years.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the Conservatives' promise to build 40 new hospitals across England was a "work of fiction", and following a funding review, a new "honest, funded, serious, and credible" plan was now in place.

The government said replacement sites for the Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary would be constructed between 2035 and 2039.

Under the proposals, both hospitals would be replaced - with new establishments built at Bailrigg East and Farington, it was announced on 2 December.

Paul Foster, Labour MP for South Ribble, told BBC Radio Lancashire the delay was "very disappointing news, but not unsurprising".

"The whole hospital-build programme is absolutely chaotic and fully underfunded," he said.

"We must ensure, in Lancashire, that our two sites are ready to go, so that when the economic environment allows it, and the Secretary of State wants to bring some of the build programme forward, we're ready."

The leader of Preston's Liberal Democrats, councillor John Potter, said: "The Labour Party campaigned for power - they knew what the state of the economy was, they knew that the Tories were lying, and [they] have now kicked this down the road.

"And it's really serious, because as hospitals get older, their health outcomes become worse, which could lead, ultimately, to more deaths in our hospitals."

Aaron Cummins, chief executive of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, agreed the delay was disappointing, but added "we accept the need for a fully-costed and deliverable timeline of investment through the New Hospital Programme".

"Whilst this may not be the news local communities wanted, we hope that the outcome brings some certainty that patients and NHS colleagues will get the new hospital that they deserve," he said.

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