The Trust that runs the Royal Lancaster Infirmary says it has ‘real concerns’ about its ability to continue to deliver high quality patient care after plans to build a new hospital were delayed.
The government announced earlier this week that work on a replacement for the RLI wouldn’t begin until at least 2035.
Read more: Work on building new Lancaster hospital to start between 2035 and 2038
The Trust say the site is ageing, has several services already provided in temporary buildings, and has a huge maintenance backlog.
On Monday, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, made a statement on the outcome of the Government’s review into the national New Hospital Programme.
The announcement included revised timelines for existing schemes, including the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. The new timelines show a delay to the expected timings for a new RLI - with construction now not expected to start until between 2035 and 2038.
In a statement, Aaron Cummins, Chief Executive of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, and Interim Chair, Tony Oakman, said: ‘’Whilst we are pleased that the announcement showed a solid commitment to building a new RLI, we are deeply disappointed about the delay in the planned timescales.
“We do understand that the government needs to make sure the programme is affordable, but we have real concerns about the impact this delay will have on our ability to ensure the current RLI site remains suitable to deliver high quality care to patients and offer a safe working environment for our colleagues.
“The RLI is an ageing site with 20 separate buildings - 65% of which were built before 1985. Several services are provided in temporary buildings offering poor quality accommodation and others are past their useful life.''
‘’There are huge backlog maintenance costs, and the inflexibility of the site makes it difficult for us to manage demand and comply with national guidance in some areas, such as single rooms, the electricity supply and the size of clinical areas.
“It is important that we now take the time to understand the impact on our scheme. What is clear though is that we will need to find a way to secure alternative funding to allow us to invest into the current site to ensure it is able to deliver safe and effective care for the additional ten to fifteen years in the revised timescales.
“We will continue to keep colleagues, patients, stakeholders and our communities updated as we know more.”
The new hospital to replace the Royal Lancaster Infirmary is being earmarked for a preferred site at Bailrigg East close to Lancaster University, it was announced in December, after the 94-acre greenfield site was sold to the NHS.
Meanwhile, a major engagement exercise to get the public’s thoughts on the proposed site has been indefinitely postponed.
A survey and series of drop-in events were launched just last week, but the planned programme of public events and independent market research will be cancelled until further notice.
Nine public sessions had been planned across the patch during February and March.
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