Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust have today announced further details of the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme, which will see the Trusts work together with the government to build new, centrally funded hospital facilities locally.
The Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme aims to address inequalities and improve health outcomes for communities across the region and will result in brand new, world-class facilities for local people.
New hospital designs will be led by expertise and evidence from doctors, nurses, and other clinical staff to ensure the best possible levels of patient treatment and care.
Local people, staff, and stakeholders will be encouraged to input into proposals, with ongoing collaboration with patients, communities, GPs, and partners a central part of developing plans, and public consultation planned for the end of the year.
Dr Amanda Doyle OBE, Chief Officer for Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System, said: “This government investment offers Lancashire and South Cumbria an incredibly exciting opportunity to build brand new hospital facilities and help local people live longer and healthier lives.
“I want to emphasise that no decisions have yet been made about the shape or location of new hospital buildings. Collaboration with local people will be a fundamental part of our process.
Over the coming months, we will be carrying out extensive engagement with our communities to explore how the new funding could best be used to provide the health services of the future.
Working together, we can make sure that the proposals we submit to government are people-focused, inclusive of all, and offer the best possible quality of care and experience.”
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust will work with other Trusts and health organisations across Lancashire and South Cumbria to develop their proposals.
These include Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Lancashire, and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Clinical Commissioning Groups, Primary Care, and Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System – the partnership of NHS, local authority, public sector, voluntary, faith and social enterprise and academic organisations.
This money will be used to refurbish and replace ageing hospital buildings in the region, some of which can no longer accommodate today’s increased patient numbers or provide the services and care needed due to their physical condition and layout.
New facilities will accommodate technology and digital advances, from artificial intelligence, robotics, and the highest-specification imaging to assist surgeons in operating theatres, to remote patient monitoring systems, enabling safe care from home.
New hospital designs will also be environmentally sustainable and create the necessary space to allow staff to deliver acute healthcare and treatments without compromising safety and to accommodate technology and services that are currently only available to patients who travel out of the area.
The programme will follow a clear process, with scrutiny and approvals needed from decision makers within the NHS, the government and local authorities and a series of milestones to pass before funding is awarded and building can start, with the building of new hospital facilities completed by 2030.
Regular updates and details of how to get involved in the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme will be provided on a dedicated website at https://newhospitals.info/
