Kettering MP wants urgent meeting with health secretary about hospital build review
Rosie Wrighting, who was elected this month, says her support for a hospital rebuild is unwavering
By Sarah Ward
Kettering’s new Labour MP has said she is seeking an urgent meeting with the health secretary about a financial review of the country’s hospital rebuild programme.
Kettering General Hospital is one of the hospitals that could be affected by Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcement on Monday that due to a £22bn black hole in the country’s finances the rebuild programme promised by former PM Boris Johnson would now go under review.
Money was pledged to build a new KGH back in 2019 and the hospitals senior bosses have spent years drawing up plans for a new building which would go on the existing site. But the cash has never materialised and now due to the chancellor’s tightening of the national purse strings, may be shelved.
However, during the election campaign on a visit to Kettering the chancellor said Tory suggestions the incoming government would scrap the KGH rebuild was a ‘load of rubbish’.
Rosie Wrighting told NN Journal this morning:
“The people of Kettering deserve an NHS that's fit for the future.
“The conservative government promised to rebuild Kettering General Hospital, a promise that was both undeliverable and unaffordable, and they did not provide the funding for. This is one of many unfunded promises that they made to the British people but knew they wouldn’t be able to deliver. They lied to local people about our NHS.
“The Chancellor has been forced to take action to clean up the mess left by the last government, but we cannot promise to deliver something if the money simply is not there, which is why she has announced a review of the New Hospital Programme. The review will provide a realistic timeframe for what can be delivered by when. This government will be honest with people- they won't lead us up the garden path only to let us down, like the Conservatives did.
“My support for the hospital is unwavering. One of my first acts as an MP was to visit KGH, which I followed up with a question in parliament about the closure of part of the maternity ward.
“I will seek a meeting with the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to urgently discuss the hospital's future plans.”
The hospital has been declared as not fit for purpose by bosses.
The number of users of the hospital is growing year on year, while the building deteriorates. The maternity wing is currently affected by the RAAC crisis.
Richard Mitchell, Group Chief Executive of University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and University Hospitals of Leicester, said:
“Our new hospital programme is well planned, delivers tangible benefits for our patients and communities, and could proceed at pace. It will also improve our recruitment and retention of NHS colleagues.
“We need to progress with our plans, which help to provide long-term solutions to challenges like the presence of RAAC in the roof of a building which houses maternity services and will create the best environments in which to deliver and receive care.
“We look forward to working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to understand how we can support with the review and continue to progress these vital developments for the good of our patients, colleagues and our local communities.”
Article updated at 4.06pm on July 31 with the hospital response.
if Labour are to scrap the plans to rebuild KGH that gives the opportunity to have a radical rethink of the local hospital provision. Kettering and Northampton both have a general hospital. Would it be better to build one new one that will cater for both. The NGH site could be redeveloped and give something better to Northampton, the patients of both towns may get a hospital and care that is fit for purpose.
rather than have silly arguments about who lied - answer - they all did, can we just concentrate on the problem which is that we have a 3rd world health care system used as a political football by all parties to the detriment of patients, lets just build one modern facility for all
It would be particularly concerning if planning protocols and regs were relaxed, further housing in and around Kettering was built and yet the hospital provision was not improved. The two go hand in hand, surely.