Royal Cornwall Hospital's new women and children unit delayed

A new £100m women's and children's unit at Cornwall's main hospital has been delayed and may now not be completed until 2027.

The cost of the new unit is to come from extra NHS funding announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2019.

It had been hoped that work would have started last year with a view to completing the centre at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro by 2024.

But rising construction costs mean that the scheme's budget is being reviewed.

Details of the new timetable were revealed during a meeting of Cornwall Council's Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny committee, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Steve Williamson, chief executive of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "With construction costs rising due to inflation, we have been asked for a further review of costs involved."

A "new business case" would be submitted later this year with a decision on funding possible in January and if approved completion would be in September 2027, he said.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Andrew George said after the meeting that the existing Princess Alexandra Wing had been "inadequate for decades" and the new unit was "desperately needed".

He said the new unit "has to happen" and it was a "disgrace", that it had been "dragging on for so long".

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