Hospital funding confirmed in major campaign victory for Stuart Anderson MP
Stuart Anderson MP has declared a major campaign victory, as the new government has confirmed that it is “committed” to delivering the £312 million hospitals transformation programme in Shropshire. It will make the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital a specialist emergency care site while, Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital becomes a dedicated planned care site - with both sites providing urgent treatment centres, diagnostics, outpatient clinics, midwife-led maternity services, frail and elderly services, and day care chemotherapy.
Stuart made securing the funding a key part of his general election campaign after the area’s previous Conservative MPs - including Philip Dunne - had worked together with local health partners to pioneer the project. The proposal was approved with a unanimous vote of health partners, now known as the Integrated Care Board, in 2019. Last December, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel then backed the plan as “the best way forward to improve acute hospital services for the whole population served in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, and mid Wales.”
In recent weeks, the project had been thrown into question as Labour MPs called on the Government to halt the project. The Labour MPs asked the Government to review the project, with a view to scrapping it entirely (1). It comes after the newly appointed Health Secretary pledged to divert billions of pounds from hospitals, saying he would be “reversing” spending plans made by the previous government (2).
Due to the ongoing uncertainty, Stuart made one of his first acts as South Shropshire’s new MP tabling a formal written question in Parliament seeking assurances that the project would be fully funded. In a response published on 25th July, Health Minister Karin Smyth said the Government is “committed to delivering” the hospital transformation programme “as part of the wider National Health Service upgrades programme”. Stuart welcomed the confirmation. He added that, once complete, the project will ensure that patients are seen by the right teams at the right time – supporting better immediate patient care and delivering a reduction in waiting lists.
Welcoming the news, Stuart Anderson MP said:
“The health and wellbeing of my constituents is a top priority of mine, which is why I have been calling on the new government to fully fund the £312 million that the previous government had committed to the hospitals transformation programme in Shropshire. After weeks of ongoing uncertainty, I am delighted to have today received confirmation that the new government is committed to delivering the programme. This generational investment will improve the quality of services and achieve better outcomes for local people.”
In response to Stuart’s question, Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care) Ms Karin Smyth MP said:
“We are committed to delivering the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Transformation Programme as part of the wider National Health Service upgrades programme. This is backed by £312 million of capital investment and will improve services and patient flow across Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in Shrewsbury and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.”
The full answer can be found at https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-07-17/239.
Sources:
