Leighton Hospital chief welcomes government review exemption

Ambitious plans for a new Leighton Hospital have taken a major step forward in recent weeks.

The government announced that the scheme will be exempt from its review of the national New Hospital Programme (NHP).

This is due to the hospital being one of seven constructed using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC)

 Ian Moston, chief executive of Mid Cheshire Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust, is delighted with the government's decision.

He said: “This announcement is great news for our patients, staff, and communities in mid Cheshire and beyond.

“Currently, we are working tirelessly to keep our staff, patients, and visitors safe through our extensive rolling programme of inspection and remedial works to stabilise structures.

"We are delighted with the clarity and renewed commitment that this announcement gives and that we have the approval to continue with our ambitions for a new health and care neighbourhood and to build a new Leighton.

"This is a once in a generation opportunity to transform the way we deliver health and care for our local population, a place of 'Healthier Futures' for our people across Mid Cheshire."

Leighton Hospital will be exempt from the government's review of the New Hospital Programme (Image: Supplied)

A lightweight, bubbly form of concrete, RAAC was often used in schools, colleges, and hospitals from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.

It has a lifespan of 30 years but Leighton Hospital is now 50 years old.

As such, the trust has been working on plans to develop a new hospital, purchasing land for the site earlier this year.

The Strategic Outline Case (SOC), the initial business case for the development, has now been endorsed by the NHP team.

So, the trust is moving forward with the next stage of the project, the Outline Business Case.

At the end of September, Andrew Cooper, MP for Mid Cheshire, confirmed that the hospital’s rebuild would go ahead.

He said: “On behalf of myself and Crewe MP Connor Naismith, I want to thank the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for listening to our concerns and appreciating how much this means to residents in the Cheshire area.

“The RAAC concrete scandal has gone on for too long, which has caused uncertainty for staff and patients.

“There is no clearer sign of the damage the Conservatives have done to our NHS than the crumbling hospital buildings that patients in Mid Cheshire are being treated in, and I am proud that this Labour Government will put that right.”