ONE of Warrington’s MPs has challenged the Government on its delay in deciding on a bid for a new hospital in the town.
Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols asked a question of Health Secretary Thérèse Coffey in the House of Commons regarding the New Hospital Programme.
Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust submitted its bid for new Warrington and Halton hospitals in September 2021.
Through the scheme, hospital trusts from across the country were invited to bid to be one of eight new sites to be built as part of the multimillion-pound scheme.
It is believed that a new Warrington Hospital would cost around £317million, while the project to rebuild Halton Hospital would require around £93million.
The Government previously stated that a decision was due in spring this year, however we are now into autumn with no outcome being revealed.
Speaking in Parliament, Ms Nichols said: “I met with Warrington and Halton NHS Trust regarding its bid for a new Hospital in Warrington, which is desperately overdue.
“Our bid is through to the final stages of the Government’s tendering process, but there is a concern that timetables are increasingly slipping, putting the bid at risk and driving delays in treatment due to facilities that are not fit for the need we have locally, despite the best efforts of our NHS staff.
“Can the secretary of state please therefore confirm that the Government still intends to honour the previous government’s plans for new hospitals, and that these decisions will be made without further delay?”
In response, Ms Coffey said: “Of course, we are still considering all the proposals coming through the different business cases and we will respond in due course.”
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