‘Significant and ongoing problems’ for Princess Alexandra Hospital as Government pauses building plans to 2032
NHS bosses say the Princess Alexandra Hospital faces “significant and ongoing problems” after the Government paused building its replacement until at least 2032.
The decision, announced on Monday (January 20) by Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting, represents a “significant delay”.
The project was part of the Conservatives’ 2019 General Election manifesto pledge to build 40 new hospitals across the country by 2030.
Julie Marson, the Tory elected to the Hertford and Stortford seat at that poll, told constituents that the proposed new health campus off the M11 near Sheering would be ready by 2028.
Just before she was ousted in July last year by Labour’s Josh Dean, Michael Meredith, director of strategy and estates with the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT), told the Indie he believed that at the current rate of progress the new hospital would be operational four years later – in 2032.
The New Hospital Programme (NHP) will now be delivered in waves of investment. Seven projects are already cleared to proceed now.
Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital is one of the 16 schemes in the next tranche, set to commence between 2025 and 2030. The work, valued at £500m or less, is scheduled for 2025 to 2026.
PAH’s state-of-the-art rebuild, set to cost between £1.5 billion and £2 billion, is in the third group, labelled Wave Two by the Government.
These nine projects are timetabled for construction between 2030 and 2035. PAH is fourth in the table behind schemes in Leeds, Sutton and Whipps Cross in north-east London. All schemes in the group have been given the same estimated start date of 2032 to 2034.
There are a further nine hospitals in the last group, scheduled for construction between 2035 and 2039.
Hattie Llewelyn-Davies, chair of the PAHT, and chief executive Thom Lafferty issued a joint statement.
“We are pleased that… Wes Streeting has confirmed the Government’s commitment to a new hospital for Harlow. His statement provides much-needed certainty to our people and our patients.
“The new hospital will provide an incredible opportunity to transform the care we deliver to our local populations, responding to local needs.
“In the meantime, our ageing hospital estate continues to face significant and ongoing problems.
“Now that the start of construction for our new hospital has been delayed until 2032, we will work with system and NHS England colleagues to ensure we can maintain safe and effective facilities for our patients and staff across our current sites in the meantime.
“We would like to thank our people, our patients, our partners and our local communities for their continued support.”
PAHT says it “will continue to work closely with the national programme team to ensure plans for the new hospital are robust and that the necessary land is acquired”.