I’m extremely pleased the Government has reconfirmed its commitment to building a new Whipps Cross Hospital, part of the £20 billion funding for the New Hospital Programme. This funding will deliver a brand-new hospital that’s fit for the future for my constituents across Chingford and Woodford Green, and following a short delay, work for a new multi-storey car park is expected to begin in Autumn.
For more than 30 years I have worked hard to get a new hospital and campaigned to ensure Whipps Cross stayed open when the previous Labour Government threatened to close it.
Working closely with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, and the local Barts Health NHS Trust team, we are on the verge of delivering my plan for better healthcare across Chingford & Woodford Green.
The local NHS’s preferred way forward is to build a new district general hospital at Whipps Cross, in a single-phase build. This will provide a range of patient services including emergency and maternity, on a cleared site that was formerly the nurses’ accommodation.
I understand my constituents concerns about the Margaret Centre and I have been clear with the redevelopment team that the new hospital must provide the same end-of-life palliative care service that is currently provided by the Margaret Centre.
