Locations for New Lancashire Hospitals Disclosed

The designated sites for two new hospitals in Lancashire have been announced. The facility slated to replace Lancashire’s Royal Lancaster Infirmary is to be situated at Bailrigg East, near Lancaster University, while the replacement for Royal Preston Hospital is projected for land located between Stanifield Lane and Wigan Road in Farington. Prof Silas Nicholls, chief executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which operates the Royal Preston, described the development as a “huge step forward in our bid to create a state-of-the-art new hospital”. Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster and Wyre, expressed approval of the announcement, characterizing it as a pivotal moment for the community and long overdue. The current sites of Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary are slated to continue operations and service delivery until the new hospital facilities become functional. Prof Nicholls elaborated that the new hospital “would provide major trauma and specialist services to the population of Lancashire and south Cumbria and acute hospital services to central Lancashire”. He further stated that it “will improve quality, safety and patient experience” and is expected to have a “transformative impact on the services we will be able to provide on-site”. Aaron Cummins, chief executive of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, indicated that establishing a new hospital at the Lancaster site would facilitate addressing the “significant problems” associated with the existing ageing structures at Royal Lancaster Infirmary. He described this as an opportunity to “create a legacy” with a hospital specifically designed for the needs of the population and to deliver the best clinical care, and noted the aim to establish digitally innovative facilities which are considerably more cost effective and possess a reduced carbon footprint. Kevin Lavery, chief executive of NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, confirmed that no definitive decisions have been reached, stating that “any such decision would be subject to full public consultation at a later date”.