- Government providing allocations of £600 million to upgrade and refurbish hospitals
- East Lancashire Hospital to benefit from 4 projects – worth £1,863,000
The Health Secretary has announced that hospital staff, patients and visitors in hospitals which are part of the East Lancashire NHS Trust will benefit from refurbished wards, brand new electrics and upgraded ventilation systems.
The Government has announced allocations of £600 million to tackle critical maintenance work in hospitals across England, including [FIGURE B] projects in [NHS Trust].
The Trust will receive just over £1.8 million to carry out the work, which could include building new or refurbishing buildings to deliver key services, upgrades to electrical infrastructure, improvements to ventilation systems, works to improve fire safety and the replacement of hospital lifts. The work will be completed by March 2021.
The money is part of a £1.5 billion announced by the Prime Minister in the summer to level up hospital infrastructure across the NHS. While £600 million will be spent on these critical maintenance upgrades, the remainder will be spent on modernising mental health facilities, expanding A&E capacity and improving infection control ahead of winter.
As last year’s General Election, the Conservatives promised to invest in the NHS to ensure NHS staff have world-class facilities to provide care for patients. Since August last year, the Government has confirmed £850 million to upgrade 20 hospitals and £3.7 billion to help deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030. Last month’s Spending Review announced a dedicated £1.2 billion for NHS new hospitals in 2021-22. Good progress has also been made on the Conservatives’ pledge of 50,000 more nurses by 2025 – with the latest statistics showing there are already 14,800 more nurses in the NHS than a year ago.
Commenting, Antony Higginbotham said:
Having spoken with the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary about Burnley’s health facilities I’m extremely pleased to see that East Lancashire NHS Trust will benefit from £1.8 million of Government funding to carry out vital maintenance work over the coming months.
During the election campaign of last year, I was proud to stand on a manifesto pledge to provide the NHS with the largest, and longest funding settlement in its history. And earlier this year, I voted to provide the NHS with an additional £33.9 billion by 2023/24. Today’s announcement delivers on my promise to level up health in our borough.
These crucial projects will enable better healthcare for the residents of Burnley and Padiham by providing NHS staff with the facilities they need to provide world-class care to patients.
Also commenting, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said:
Alongside delivering on our manifesto commitment to build 40 new hospitals and 20 major hospital upgrades across the country, this investment will help our NHS build back better.
These crucial maintenance projects will deliver immediate benefits and provide NHS staff with the facilities they need to provide world-class care to their patients this winter, helping ensure the NHS is always there for you when you need it.
