On Tuesday in the House of Commons, Warrington South MP Andy Carter asked Will Quince MP, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, for an update on when the Government decision on Warrington’s £370million bid for a new general hospital can be expected.
The Government’s New Hospital Programme invited NHS Trusts from around the country to submit expressions of interest to become one of the eight new hospital sites. Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust officially submitted its bid for a new hospital last September.
In his question the MP pointed out the difficulties currently faced by Warrington residents due to inadequate healthcare provision for a rising local population, remarking: “Over the last 20 years Warrington has had some of the highest level of new houses built in the North West of England, but our healthcare infrastructure hasn’t kept pace.
"We desperately need a new hospital, our A&E is at breaking point, we don’t have enough beds and there’s nowhere to park your car when you go and visit.
“In 2021 my NHS Trust submitted a bid to the Department for Health for a new hospital. Could he give us an update on where we are with that process?”
Responding, the Minister reflected on the meeting he held with Andy Carter last week to discuss Warrington’s new hospital bid and informed MPs that the Government was currently reviewing the expressions of interest that have been received. The final decision on the eight new hospitals is set to be announced by the end of the year.
The MP commented that thousands of people in Warrington South had backed his campaign to secure a new hospital. Back in March the then-Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, visited Warrington to see the challenges faced in the existing hospital for himself and wished Andy Carter “every success” for Warrington’s bid at Prime Minister’s Questions.
