The Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed that Frimley Park Hospital is set to be re-built as part of the previous Conservative Government's New Hospital Programme.
This is welcome news, as there had been concern that the review of this programme by Labour would see Frimley Park taken off the list for re-development. The Department has today stated that “hospital schemes with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), will proceed at pace due to the substantive safety risks associated with these.” This includes our local hospital here in Surrey Heath which is exempt from the review of the national new hospital programme.
A petition had been set-up six weeks ago by Ed McGuinness that built grassroots momentum and support for saving the re-build of the hospital, which is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure the future of local healthcare here and transform the way care is delivered. The petition, launched by Ed, gathered almost 10,000 signatures and was covered by both BBC Surrey and Surrey Live.
Commenting, the Deputy Chief Executive at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Caroline Hutton, said:
"The new Frimley Park Hospital has been formally confirmed as sitting outside of the broader review and given the green light to continue to move forward as planned. We are being actively supported by the national new hospital programme to maintain progress to ensure the new hospital will be open as soon as possible.
"While we were always confident that our new hospital would remain a priority, we know the announcement of the review into the national new hospital programme raised questions and uncertainty, and so we welcome this additional clarity and renewed commitment."
Pictured, Frimley Park Hospital
