Andy Carter MP hosted a meeting yesterday with Health Minister Rt Hon Edward Argar MP and executives from Warrington & Halton NHS Trust and Warrington Council to discuss plans for a new hospital.
The Warrington South MP welcomed the immediate £4.3m worth of funding to support A&E capacity at the Lovely Lane site ahead of the Winter months has pulled together Hospital Chiefs to make the case to the Minister for a new hospital in the town.
Chairman of Warrington & Halton NHS Trust Steve McGuirk commented:
It was a really positive step to be able to make the case to the Minister for a new hospital in Warrington. The recent funding for A&E services was most welcome, but we have a vision at the Trust for a new state of the art hospital that can meet future demand and be a more welcoming place for residents.
The team have been working hard on business cases for two developments across Warrington & Halton, and we will continue to work with partners to push the Government to allow us to get them over the line.
Anticipated growth in population alongside a growing backlog of capital work means the need to address the future healthcare needs of the town is increasingly important.
A strategic board which includes representatives from the Council, CCG and representatives from Halton has been launched with a view to engaging with local people and providing the right services for the town into the future.
MP for Warrington South, Andy Carter said:
Following my recent question in the House of Commons, I was pleased to get the opportunity to speak to the Minister with senior members of the Trust and Local Council yesterday. This will certainly be a long-term project for us, and these are the right first steps to engage with the Department for Health, but I’m pushing strongly for more funding to be released so that the hospital can complete its business case work and we can move towards development.
We were also able to make the case that a new hospital would not only combat health challenges across the Town but would also be a key facet around regeneration of the town centre, freeing up land for housing in the process and acting as a catalyst for a new partnership with the University of Chester.
