MPs want assurance services will remain
L● ABOUR MPs Mike Amesbury and Derek Twigg are to seek assurances that hospital care services will be retained in Runcorn following the announcement that Halton General is to be bulldozed under a £40m health campus redevelopment plan.
Mr Amesbury, whose Weaver Vale constituency includes the site, and Halton’s Derek Twigg have announced they are to hold a joint meeting with Warrington And Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WHH) bosses to discuss the plans to confirm that no services will be lost.
Under WHH’s proposals, an extension would be added to the existing Cheshire And Merseyside Treatment Centre to host all services provided at present at Halton General including wards, theatres and clinics.
Once these are able to transfer across, Halton General Hos- pital will be demolished.
WHH has lodged a bid for £40m of NHS cash to fund the redevelopment of the site into a ‘health campus’ featuring a rehabilitation centre, social and key worker housing, a medical plaza, a diagnostics unit, conference centre, and neighbourhood shops, cafes and post office. The trust said WHH is an ‘aged’ building.
A post on Mr Twigg’s Facebook page said ‘ill-informed’ rumours about the hospital’s future could ‘unnecessarily worry’ residents and patients.
WHH confirmed last Thursday, February 15, that Halton General is to be demolished after weeks of refraining from comment on speculation.
Mr Amesbury said: “As elected MPs we have a duty to our constituents to ensure that these plans don’t negatively impact upon them, and we’ll be seeking reassurances from the trust that no services will be lost from the local area.
“Importantly, we’ll also be seeking assurances that there is ● no risk of any of those services being outsourced or privatised.”
Mr Twigg said: “We welcome any plans to improve health care in Halton, and the assurance given by the chief executive of the trust that no services such as elective surgery will be taken away from the hospital.
“However, we will holding discussions with the decision makers to get more information so our constituents can be fully reassured, and asking about the possibility of more services being located at the Halton site.”