Hertford & Stortford and Harlow MPs concede review of plans for new Princess Alexandra Hospital is ‘unavoidable’
Hertford and Stortford’s new Labour MP has conceded that plans for a new Princess Alexandra Hospital must be reviewed.
Josh Dean issued a joint statement to the Indie with his newly-elected Harlow counterpart Chris Vince in response to Chancellor Rachel Reeves accusing the outgoing Conservative Government of leaving a £22 billion hole in the public finances and giving people “false hope” about 40 new hospitals nationwide.
During the General Election campaign, Mr Dean and Mr Vince welcomed assurances from Wes Streeting, now the Health Secretary, that Labour was “committed to delivering the New Hospitals Programme, including Princess Alexandra Hospital”.
However, in the House of Commons this week, Ms Reeves outlined the challenge Labour faces to balance the books.
“I am talking about the money that the previous Government were already spending this year and had no ability to pay for, which they hid from the country,” she said.
“They had exhausted the reserve and they knew that, but nobody else did. They ducked the difficult decisions, put party before country and continued to make unfunded commitment after unfunded commitment, knowing that the money was not there.”
She said: “The scale of this overspend is not sustainable, and to not act is simply not an option.”
The Princess Alexandra Hospital project was part of the Hospital 2.0 programme to standardise design for future developments and deliver on a 2019 Conservative General Election manifesto pledge to build 40 new hospitals across the country by 2030.
Hertford and Stortford’s former MP, Tory Julie Marson, previously claimed the facilities would be ready by 2028.
Before the July 4 General Election, Michael Meredith, director of strategy and estates with the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, told the Indie that he now expected the health campus on land off junction 7a of the M11 to be “up and running” in 2032, two years later than thepreviously hoped-for completion date of 2030.
However, this week the Chancellor told Parliament: “In October 2020, the Government announced that 40 new hospitals would be built by 2030. Since then, only one new project has opened to patients and only six have started their main construction activity.
“The National Audit Office was clear that delivery was wildly off track, but since coming into office, it has become clear that the previous Government continued to maintain their commitment to 40 hospitals without anywhere close to the funding required to deliver them. That gave our constituents false hope.
“We need to be straight with the British people about what is deliverable and what is affordable, so we will conduct a complete review of the New Hospital Programme, with a thorough, realistic and costed timetable for delivery.”
In their statement, Mr Dean and Mr Vince said: “There is no clearer sign of the damage the Conservatives have done to our NHS than the crumbling hospital that patients in Harlow and Hertford and Stortford are being treated in.
“Now it has become clear that the Tories have left a black hole in Britain’s finances. They covered up the true state of the public finances and then ran away, and it is now up to the Labour Government to fix the foundations of the economy, restore economic stability and never stand by to let something like this happen again.
“The rebuild of Princess Alexandra Hospital is long overdue, but this means a review of the work is unavoidable.
“We will work constructively with a Labour Government to ensure the best possible healthcare for residents in Harlow and Hertford and Stortford with a plan that is achievable and affordable for the country.”
The Chancellor, who said there was a £4bn funding gap for new hospitals, pledged that Mr Streeting would meet constituents “affected by the previous Government’s betrayal on building 40 new hospitals”.
