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Halton Hospital

Volume 712: debated on Wednesday 20 April 2022

The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,

Declares that the people of Halton should be able to access first class NHS facilities and services on their doorstep; further that tackling health inequalities must be considered as part of the Government’s approach to levelling up; further that Halton Hospital is located in a deprived neighbourhood; and notes that a third funding bid to create two new hospital campuses in Warrington and Halton was recently lodged after two previous pleas for more capital investment fell on deaf ears.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to prioritise Halton and Warrington and create two new hospital campuses, one in each area, as part of the New Hospital Programme.

And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Mike Amesbury , Official Report, 29 March 2022; Vol. 711, c. 794.]

[P002724]

Observations from the Minister for Health (Edward Argar):

The next eight new hospitals form part of the Government’s commitment to fund and build 40 new hospitals by 2030. Together with eight existing schemes, this will mean 48 new hospitals by the end of the decade.

The process to select the next eight schemes to complete the total of 40 new hospitals was launched in summer 2021. Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust submitted an expression of interest (EOI).

The selection of the eight schemes involves a balanced and robust two-stage assessment process. The first stage involved consideration of the EOIs, alongside analysis of existing official datasets signed off by trust executives, then review and challenge from regional NHS leaders to provide expertise on local system priorities. A national panel considered the full breadth of the evidence and analysis to provide advice to Ministers on a longlist for consideration. Longlisted schemes will then enter the subsequent, more detailed selection phase. The next steps will be communicated in due course and the selected eight schemes will be announced later in the year.

As the selection process is under way, we are unable to comment on individual submissions.

Beyond the next eight, we are pleased to have provided capital for Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2020-21, including £1 million from the A&E upgrades fund, £2.4 million to eradicate backlog maintenance of the estate, and £4.8 million in emergency capital for various works across both the Halton and Warrington sites.