Is Kettering’s hospital rebuild going in the chancellor’s ‘if we cannot afford it, we won’t do it' pile?
New chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves announces a review of the hospital rebuild programme which could possibly see the Kettering plan shelved
By Sarah Ward
A review of the country’s new build hospital programme announced by new Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves could see Kettering’s long planned scheme stymied.
The chancellor announced a raft of measures to tackle the £22bn shortfall in the government’s in year budget, accusing the former Conservative government of a cover up, by not being honest when they were in charge about just how bad the country’s finances were. In the parliamentary speech she reiterated a number of times that ‘If we cannot afford it, we can’t do it’ setting the stage for a likely number of cuts to public works programmes and services.
As anticipated, the hospitals programme, which was first outlined by former PM Boris Johnson, is now under review, but just what this will mean for Kettering General Hospital is unclear.
The hospital, which dates back to Victorian times, and which its bosses decried as not fit for purpose several years ago, was due to be one of the 40 hospitals across the country which were to be rebuilt, at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds.
But despite the promises and years of plans, the money has never been given to the Rothwell Road Hospital, and with the chancellor’s locking of the purse strings, may not be.