‘No plan has been submitted - so why complain about its rejection?’
SOUTHPORT MP Damien Moore has threatened to lodge an official complaint to the local hospital trust over comments reportedly made by chief executive Silas Nicholls.
Mr Moore was angered by remarks from Mr Nicholls in the wake of Health
Secretary Matt
Hancock’s visit to Southport Hospital this month, during which it was revealed that Southport would not be included in areas to benefit from a new hospital.
Mr Nicholls has previously stated a desire to see a new hospital built to replace the existing facilities in Southport and Ormskirk.
But Mr Moore condemned the hospital boss for stating that opinion, arguing it jeopardised any future consultation.
Speaking after meeting Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in July, Mr Nicholls said the current hospital was past its operational life and in need of upgrade or replacement.
He said: “My preference would be for a new-build. I think when you actually look at the cost of a new building versus the cost of just keeping our two existing sites, economically it makes far more sense to do that.”
Mr Moore said Mr Nicholls had also publicly criticised the Government for not granting Southport a new hospital, but says no submission was ever made for one.
Mr Moore said he had written a formal complaint to the hospital Trust, hospital board, chair of the clinical commissioning group, and the Secretary of State for Health “regarding the previous statements issued by the CEO with a view to action being taken”.
A spokesman for Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust said no complaint had been received.
Mr Moore said: “While a new-build hospital remains one of five suggested proposals to come out of the recent clinical senate report conducted by the S&O trust, local residents have yet to be consulted and it remains the most unlikely outcome.
“On my recent visit to the hospital with the Secretary of State for Health, it also transpired that the hospital’s chief executive had not submitted a costed proposal to the Government for consideration and a proposed site has not even been identified.
“I am therefore unclear as to why the
CEO and Bill Esterson MP are criticising the Government for not providing more than £100m for a project when there are no plans, no costings – and they won’t even tell residents where this new hospital will be built.”
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