Plans for new state-of-the-art Lancaster hospital move step closer

Plans for a new state-of-the-art hospital in Lancaster have moved a step closer after the government announced funding for the next phase of the scheme.

The Secretary of State for Health said that the government was "committed" to building a new hospital in Lancaster as he announced plans to pump £20bn into a countrywide New Hospitals Programme.

Stephen Barclay said the scheme would "continue to progress" and support would be given to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) to "carry out early works in advance of main construction" of a new hospital.

David Morris, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, hailed this news as "absolutely huge for the whole population in North Lancashire, we are getting a brand new state of the art hospital" saying it "will be completed shortly after 2030".

The local NHS including the health trust in charge of the RLI also welcomed the news. 

But Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster, said Mr Barclay's announcement in Parliament today wasn't what she'd hoped for as it "contained no specifics" of funding for a Lancaster hospital.

And the Health Service Journal said that Lancaster was one of eight schemes to be "pushed back" from an original 2030 target date.

The government's New Hospitals Programme - the biggest hospital building programme in a generation - aims to develop cutting-edge facilities, offering the absolute best in modern healthcare and address significant problems with the current ageing hospital buildings.

Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme had been part of the government's pledge to build 40 new hospitals by 2030.

In September 2022, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria said it preferred new hospitals on new sites for both the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital as part of the programme.

Mr Barclay outlined the latest plans for the programme in a speech in Parliament on Thursday.

He confirmed £20bn of funding which he called 'Hospitals 2.0', and said it had been divided into cohorts 1 to 4, with construction of new hospitals in cohort 1 having already started.

Mr Barclay (pictured below) said that hospitals in cohort 2 and cohort 3 would "proceed and be fully funded" and most cohort 4 hospitals "remained on track for completion by 2030".

He also said a new surgical hub will be opened at the Royal Preston Hospital, due to be completed this year, and said "we will reconfigure services across two Trusts and one of those sites...is near Chorley".

There was no specific mention of Lancaster in his speech.

David Morris, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, then asked Mr Barclay about the plans for Lancaster.

"This is marvellous news across the country, but I would like to ask the Secretary of State the decision on Lancaster," said Mr Morris.

"I have heard that we may be getting a new hospital, it may be further down the line, however we are in need of one and I know that any news he can give us would be fantastic news not only to myself after all of the lobbying I have done...but it will be also welcome news by (Cat Smith MP for Lancaster)."

Mr Barclay replied: "The Trust is at a very early stage in terms of considering, for example, what public consultation will be needed around the reconfiguration of services across Lancaster.

"We're not letting that stop us in terms of work, for example, opening a new surgical hub at Royal Preston.

"As he knows, I know the geography very well in terms of the interaction with Lancaster.

"There are a number of options around consolidation and expanding services onto two sites and I look forward to having discussions with him as we take that forward."

Mr Morris said afterwards that Lancaster will be in cohort 4.

"Today’s decision is absolutely huge for the whole population in North Lancashire, we are getting a brand new state of the art hospital," he said.

"Personally, this has been a huge achievement as it has been such a long time coming. From ensuring the RLI secured seed funding in 2019 to lobbying ministers constantly to ensure our favoured option of a new hospital in Lancaster was given the green light.

"Today’s decision is also vindication for the management of the Trust who decided that a joint bid with Preston would make a stronger case and even in the face of public criticism that said they wanted to close both Preston and Lancaster and create one super hospital, which was never the plan.

"A new hospital is not just lifechanging for patients across our area but will be a great morale boost for our fantastic RLI staff who work so hard to provide outstanding care, in what is now an extremely old and not fit for purpose building. A new hospital allows them to shine, and continue to provide outstanding care for the next generation.

"The hard work now begins with the Trust receiving funding to work up plans for the new hospital which will be in cohort 4 of the new hospitals programme."

Aaron Cummins (pictured below), chief executive of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust who run the RLI, said: “Our New Hospitals Programme is a key priority for all partners across the local NHS, which is moving on at pace. This once-in-a-generation opportunity will be a huge contribution to our recovery as a health and care system after Covid-19, bringing new facilities and much needed investment into our patch for the benefit of patients and colleagues.”

Jerry Hawker, director of transformation for NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and Senior Responsible Officer for Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme, said: “We are delighted to hear that the government has announced significant new funding for the next phase of the national New Hospital Programme, which brings our plans to offer the absolute best in modern healthcare and address significant problems with the current ageing hospital buildings a step closer. We look forward to working closely with the national New Hospital Programme team to determine the specific allocation of funding for Lancashire and South Cumbria so that we can understand what this means for our local communities.”

Kevin McGee OBE, chief executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is great news, and we are excited by the opportunities our New Hospitals Programme represents for the people of Lancashire and South Cumbria. Although the timing has changed, we welcome having clarity on both the timescales and the funding involved. Being able to build new hospitals on new sites will be truly transformational, giving us the freedom to design our services and facilities around the needs of our patients, future-proofing services for the next generation.”

Kevin Lavery, chief executive of NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, said: “The New Hospitals Programme gives us a real opportunity to achieve our ambitions for being an exemplar health and care system by transforming the way we work across our hospitals in Lancashire and South Cumbria.

"This transformation will enable us to improve quality, safety and patient experience for our whole population and have a positive impact for our NHS staff, who undertake incredible work to support our communities every day.”

Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster, received a letter from Mr Barclay which said: "We remain committed to the delivery of the scheme for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust for Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

"The announcement today will allow this scheme to continue to progress, and we will support the Trust to carry out early works in advance of main construction.

"We expect that some schemes that were due to begin construction in the latter half of the decade may now fully complete construction after 2030."

Ms Smith (pictured below) said: "I've asked two Prime Minister's Questions about when Lancaster will be getting money for this new hospital and I've been told, basically, to wait and see.

"I'm not sure that the announcement today, that contains no specifics of money for Lancaster, is quite what I've been hoping for.

“I welcome the commitment from Government that we should get a new hospital in Lancaster, the current RLI buildings aren’t ideal and cost the Trust a lot of their budget to run and maintain.

"The oldest parts are 130 years old! However the latest announcement from the Department for Health doesn’t allocate our Trust any money, so that does concern me as this was originally meant to be with us over a year ago and it makes it very difficult to progress plans.

"It looks like Lancaster is stuck on an NHS waiting list and the warnings are there that we could be stuck on the waiting list until after 2030. I will continue to stand up and fight for what we were promised – a new hospital before 2030!”

County Councillor Lizzi Collinge, Labour's Shadow Cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing, said: "I am very concerned that this new announcement does not specify the financial settlement for the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme, nor does it confirm support for the local proposals for new hospitals on new sites for both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

"Lancashire and South Cumbria have been waiting over a year for a financial settlement. Without this the local programme cannot move forward into building desperately needed new hospitals. 

"At Health Scrutiny Committee we have heard clear evidence that new hospitals are needed for safe, effective, care. They are also needed to enable the hospitals to recruit more staff and give them a great place to work. 

"What the public in Lancashire and South Cumbria need is a clear financial settlement and a clear commitment to two full new hospitals for our area."

The Health Service Journal has said the £20bn is less than the "32bn of central funding that programme leaders said was required".

They also said that Lancaster was one of eight schemes countrywide that would now be completed after 2030 - contrary to the government's pledge.

"The government will argue it is still meeting the pledge to deliver 40 new hospitals, by saying the eight schemes pushed back until after 2030 have been replaced by the five RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) projects, as well as three mental health facilities that were part of wider capital plans," it said.

A shortlist of the local NHS' proposals for new hospital facilities was announced in March 2022, which were:

• A new Royal Lancaster Infirmary on a new site, with partial rebuild/refurbishment of Royal Preston Hospital
• A new Royal Preston Hospital on a new site, with partial rebuild/refurbishment of Royal Lancaster Infirmary
• Investment at both Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital, allowing partial rebuilding work on both existing sites
• Two new hospitals to replace Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital (new sites)

The preferred option was for a state-of-the-art hospital on a new site, to significantly improve patient experience, the quality of services provided, and improve the environment for patients, visitors and staff.

The alternative option was an improved Royal Lancaster Infirmary in the current location to include a new urgent and emergency care village, together with reprovision of critical care, maternity and neonatal, and some inpatient accommodation and diagnostics. An urgent and emergency care village would contain a range of departments focused on delivering urgent healthcare needs – for example, emergency department (A&E), assessment units, diagnostics and radiology, rapid assessment, same day treatment centre, paediatric care, and ambulance facilities.

It is believed that should a new hospital be built, the current Royal Lancaster Infirmary would continue to operate fully until the new hospital was ready, and the staff would move over and still be employed on the new site. 

Read more: NHS bosses unveil preference for a new hospital at a new site for Lancaster - Beyond Radio