Potential new hospital sites unveiled

The NHS has revealed where it is provisionally planning to build the new hospitals promised for Preston and Lancaster.

If the preferred locations ultimately get the go-ahead, the new Royal Preston will spring up on land off Stanifield Lane in Farington, close to the junction of the M65 and M6.

The proposed plot is close to the site that was once earmarked for a new IKEA store and lies in South Ribble – some eight miles from the city’s existing hospital in Fulwood.

Meanwhile, the new Royal Lancaster Infirmary has been earmarked for a site at Bailrigg East – between the A6 and the M6 – just north of Lancaster University’s Health Innovation Campus.   The land is around two miles south of the current facility.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that deals to acquire both sites were concluded last week.

However, health bosses are keen to stress that no final decisions have been taken and full public consultations into the proposals will be carried out before the blueprints – which would also require planning permission – are given final approval.

The land agreements have been reached even before the conclusion of the government’s ongoing review into the nationwide new hospitals programme, of which the Preston and Lancaster facilities are a part.

Shortly after the new Labour administration came to power in the summer, health secretary Wes Streeting ordered the reassessment of the majority of the more 40 projects given the green light by the previous Conservative government.

He told the Commons that the schemes were “not deliverable” within the 2030 timeframe that had been set for them, his comments coming in the context of the “£22bn black hole” Labour said it had uncovered in the nation’s finances.

However, the Preston and Lancaster new builds had already seen their proposed completion dates pushed back to the mid-2030s by the last government, raising hopes that they might be unaffected by the review.

While the purchase of the sites is not a guarantee that the projects will go ahead, it is the most positive sign yet that the outcome of the review will be favourable – not least because the national programme had to release the funds to acquire the land.

Nevertheless, the NHS has told the LDRS that it has an “exit strategy” that can be enacted if its plans change.

That fallback is necessary not only as a result of the national picture, but also because health leaders in Lancashire say they are still open to considering alternative sites for the new hospitals – and are actively encouraging suggestions.

However, speaking to the LDRS, Rebecca Malin – programme director for the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme – said some degree of “certainty” was needed about possible locations in order to move into the public engagement and consultation phases.

“We need to have an option that we could actually deliver,” she explained.

So-called “pre-consultation engagement” will take place between January and March next year when the public will be asked for their thoughts via a survey and will also be able to attend a series of special events at which they can ask questions and find out more about the plans.

Rebecca Malin said it would be key to informing the subsequent consultation.

“We will be able to show how we’ve responded to [the views expressed]…and that then helps us come out and do a really meaningful consultation at a later date,” she said.

She told the LDRS that there had been a painstaking assessment of the sites so far put forward, all of which had to lie within a 10-mile radius of the current facilities.  The LDRS understands a dozen were considered for the Royal Preston and nine for the Royal Lancaster.

“We started [by asking], ‘How big is it [and] what access does it have?’ And then we’ve had a series of [questions relating to] the highway solutions for the sites [and whether] there are any significant planning restrictions.

“That’s how we’ve narrowed it down – it was just a gradual appraisal. And then we’ve had to do appraisals around ecology…[and] all the environmental aspects.

“But it’s not just about the land and building hospitals – it is the much wider opportunity that [this] brings, whether it’s from partnerships for education, training, research, technology and net-zero carbon.

“There are so many opportunities [for] how far we could take this to the benefit of our whole community.” Ms. Malin added.

The current hospitals in Preston and Lancaster will continue to operate as normal until their replacements open.

WHAT WILL THE HOSPITALS BE LIKE?

The proposed new facilities will have single rooms with ensuite facilities for all inpatients – a far cry from what is available on the existing sites.

Rebecca Malin says that the design will transform the experience of a hospital stay.

“I think we move away from thinking of it as ‘single rooms’, as we do now, [to] single bedrooms – and then there will be space for you to interact, socialise [and] have your therapeutic environment outside of your bedroom,” she explained.

No details have yet been published about the number of beds that will be available at each site, nor about that other perennial patient concern – car parking.

Ms. Malin said there are “many iterations of design” to be gone through yet, but while the nationwide programme has stipulated a relatively standardised arrangement across all of the new facilities to be built – in order to maximise the cost effectiveness of the schemes and ensure they are equally digitally-enabled –  there will be “flexibility according to local need”.

In the case of the Royal Preston, that will be required because of its status as Lancashire and South Cumbria’s major trauma centre and the site for a number of specialist services for patients beyond the Central Lancashire area – including those in need of some cancer, vascular and renal treatments.

PROPOSED NEW ROYAL PRESTON SITE:  ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

The site was first mooted as the possible location for what was then billed a “super hospital” back in 2018, after IKEA withdrew from its planned development in the area.  At that point, it was thought that it could also replace Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, but that plan was ultimately never pursued.

According to the NHS, the plot:

***is on land between Stanifield Lane and Wigan Road, south of Stoney Lane, Farington;

***currently comprises farmland;

***is close to residential, commercial and retail areas;

***has major motorway links via the M6 and M65;

***is one mile away from the nearest railway station.

***within reach of various existing bus routes.

PROPOSED NEW ROYAL LANCASTER SITE:  ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

The NHS says of the site:

***it is at Bailrigg East, Lancaster, north of and in close proximity to Lancaster University;

***the nearest residential area is adjacent to the north of the site;

***the nearest motorway is the M6, with the A6 being the nearest major road for access;

***Lancaster railway station is 3.2 miles away

***bus routes are found along the A6 and within the university campus.

‘STATE OF THE ART FUTURE:  WHAT THE HOSPITAL BOSSES HAVE TO SAY

Professor Silas Nicholls, chief executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:  “Securing our preferred site is a huge step forward in our bid to create a state-of-the-art new hospital to replace Royal Preston Hospital.

“This would provide major trauma and specialist services to the population of Lancashire and South Cumbria and acute hospital services to Central Lancashire.

“A new hospital will improve quality, safety and patient experience and have a transformative impact on the services we will be able to provide on-site and in our wider communities, so we can meet the needs of our patients and future generations.

“In addition, it would drive much-needed investment to the region, acting as the catalyst for future jobs, skills, research and further economic development opportunities.”

Aaron Cummins, chief executive of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation

Trust, said:” A new hospital on a new site in Lancaster will allow us to fully address the significant problems that we face with the current ageing buildings at Royal Lancaster Infirmary and will bring huge benefits to our communities and to the wider economy.

“We have the opportunity to create a legacy, with a hospital specifically designed for the needs of our population, improving their experience and giving them the best clinical care.

“We additionally have significant ambitions to create facilities that are digitally innovative, much more cost effective, and with a reduced carbon footprint.”

Meanwhile, Kevin Lavery, chief executive of NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, added:  “A comprehensive review of sites, including plot size, location, motorway access, existing highways infrastructure, public transport, planning and environmental conditions, has been undertaken to assess sites for their suitability.

“Whilst proposals are at an early stage, we understand many people will want more information about how the travel and transport arrangements will work for the new facilities.

“We want to hear about how our proposals for the two new hospitals on new sites would affect you, your family or people you care for. Your views will help to inform the development of any plans going forward.

“While the local NHS has secured the potential new sites, no final decisions have been made. It is important to emphasise that any such decision would be subject to full public consultation at a later date.”