MP responds to calls for new Cornwall hospital

ACORNISH MP has responded to concerns about the pressures on healthcare in Cornwall, stating that the county could still get a new hospital.

Health and care leaders issued a joint letter this week outlining “ongoing extreme surge in demand” which includes 700 people in need of care and support that is currently unavailable in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

They outlined that more than 20 care homes are closed due to Covid, over 400 people visited the Royal Cornwall Hospital’s emergency department at the weekend, the NHS 111 service received more than 2,000 calls during the same period while dementia patients are being treated at locations not designed for their needs.

On the same day that the full details of pressure on Cornwall’s NHS were revealed, a patient’s mother spoke out about Treliske’s Emergency Department being akin to a “disaster movie” with people waiting over 20 hours for a bed.

Stacey Guthrie tweeted Truro and Falmouth MP Cherilyn Mackrory asking: “Where’s the new hospital?”

The MP has now responded. She said: “With our seasonal population increases it is not unusual for services in Cornwall to come under pressure at this time of year, and with the dual combination of Covid restrictions and more people visiting Cornwall than ever before, this is particularly apparent this year.

“I join the NHS and Cornwall Council in urging people to carefully consider whether they to visit our A&E department at Treliske, in order to keep pressure off this service wherever possible.”

Last September it was announced by then Health Secretary Matt Hancock that the NHS in Cornwall would receive £450 million in funding, possibly for a brand new hospital.

The £450m is in addition to the previously announced investment of £135 million for new facilities and services provided by the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust at Treliske, including a new women and children’s unit.

However, local NHS decisionmakers admitted they could not verify if the money would be spent on a new hospital as they had received “very little detail” from the Government.

A petition asking for a second general hospital with an emergency department has currently reached 12,021 signatures. The Government responds to all petitions on the Parliament’s petition website that get more than 10,000 signatures.

Mrs Mackrory added: “In the longer term, the Government has given £450million to Cornwall’s NHS to upgrade health infrastructure – this could include a new hospital. This is now with Cornwall’s NHS organisations, who are working on a business case on how to best use it.

“This goes alongside millions of pounds of investment for a new women’s and children’s hospital at Treliske and other upgraded facilities at our main hospital, record general investment in Cornwall’s NHS and the Government writing £42.5million off Treliske’s debt last year.”