Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced she would be reviewing the previous government’s plan to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 and resetting the programme to put it on a sustainable footing.
The details of the review are yet to be confirmed and we don’t know whether or not the funding for the redevelopment of the Epsom and St Helier Hospitals will be forthcoming and if so on what timeline.
The new government says that past delays and cost overruns mean that the funding allocated to the programme runs out in March. The programme has therefore to be reset and a thorough, costed and realistic timeline for delivery put in place to avoid the public being further mislead and let down.
Meanwhile the Hospital Trust says it is “cracking on with plans for the new hospital and upgrades to our existing sites while the review takes place”.
Hopefully we will know more by the time that James Blythe, Managing Director of the Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust speaks at our next Resident’s Meeting on 17 October at 7.30pm the Epsom Sports Club.
Please make sure that evening is reserved in your diary for what will be an important opportunity to hear what the review may mean for our hospital redevelopment plans.
We are very grateful to James for agreeing to give up his evening to come and speak to us.