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Whitehaven Hospital £100 million Rebuild North Cumbria University Hospitals to create 21st Century facility.
North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust PRESS RELEASE
Release Date: 3 March 2009 £100 MILLION INVESTMENT FOR NEW WEST CUMBERLAND HOSPITAL North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust today announced plans for a significant £100 million investment into healthcare in West Cumbria to create a modern, flexible and state-of-the art hospital facility that will be fit for the 21st Century. This investment would be the single biggest capital investment into healthcare for the people of West Cumbria since the original hospital opened half a decade ago, signalling a new dawn in hospital care.
The Trust Board of North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust has decided the best option is to progress plans to redevelop on the existing West Cumberland Hospital site and provide a range of new buildings that would create a modern and flexible healthcare facility to benefit patient care now and in the future.
This decision puts an end to uncertainty for the West Cumbrian community and now allows the Trust to quickly move ahead with the plans to provide this new facility over the next five years.
The Trust Board examined all options for the new facility and took advice from a team of experts (EC Harris Built Asset Consultancy) which has an outstanding track-record in delivering new build facilities for the NHS across the country. These have included new facilities for Yeovil District Hospital Foundation Trust, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreeen University Hospitals NHS Trust, the University College Hospital of London and Alder Hey.
In reaching its decision, the Trust Board took into account three requirements.
These were:
1. To provide all the services mapped out in NHS Cumbria’s Closer to Home strategy which received wide-spread public support during the primary care trust’s consultation last year. This was to deliver a new healthcare facility in West Cumbria together with significant investment into primary care services and community hospitals closer to people’s homes.
2. To provide a healthcare facility designed to modernise, improve and deliver care to all patients in West Cumbria.
3. To move this development forward quickly as public capital is available now.
The Trust Board looked at a range of options which included providing a hospital on a new site or a redevelopment of the existing West Cumberland Hospital site with new build facilities.
Taking into account that the new facility must provide the full range of services outlined in Closer to Home and the space required to do this together with the budget available, the best value for money is to redevelop and build on the existing West Cumberland Hospital site.
Its surrounding land and existing hospital infrastructure give excellent opportunities for development to provide a modern healthcare facility without duplicating the cost of site infrastructure such as main supplies, roads and car parking.
Mike Little, Chairman of North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We realise that the people of West Cumbria and the staff in our Trust have waited a long time for this news. Our Trust Board is determined to move this forward as quickly as possible and has carried out a robust appraisal of all the site options for this new development with expert opinion.
“We believe the preferred option represents a significant investment into healthcare facilities for West Cumbria and is an opportunity that should not be missed.”
Carole Heatly, Chief Executive of North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust said: “I am delighted the Trust Board has put forward this option which now allows us to move forward and really start to plan what will be an excellent healthcare provision for our patients in West Cumbria.
“The Trust Board has made the right decision to develop healthcare on the best site that will provide the best quality of care for our patients.”
Jamie Reed, MP for Copeland, said: “I’m delighted by this decision. We have waited almost two years for this, during which time I have consistently made the case for the existing site. This is what the community wants, it’s what we have worked for and it’s what we deserve.
“Not only will be existing site provide the best level of care for the community with this development, it will also provide a significant economic benefit. The West Cumberland Hospital was the first new hospital built by government after the creation of the NHS, so it is fitting that the new West Cumberland will now become a symbol of state-of-the-art 21st Century healthcare. We must move quickly, break ground and build.”
The Trust will now develop a full Outline Business Case for the new healthcare facility using its preferred option to access the necessary funding.
A project team has been set up at the West Cumberland Hospital and a display of the plans as the project progresses will be open to the public.
ENDS
For any further information, please contact Elizabeth Kay, Head of Communications & Reputation Management for North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, on 01228 814344 or 07770 828202.
1. North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust is the managing Trust of the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.
2. North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust received an Excellent rating for Quality of Care in the latest Healthcare Commission Annual Health Check 2007/08. North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust PRESS RELEASE
Release Date: 3 March 2009 |
