This June, I visited Royal Preston Hospital and got to meet with union representatives from UNISON, RCN and UNITE. We discussed the current opportunities and challenges facing the hospital and I also got to see some of the hospital.
It was important for me to see the issues affecting Royal Preston Hospital first hand and I’ve committed to monthly meetings with staff representatives from each union to discuss how we can improve things for the staff there. I will also be meeting with the leadership monthly, alongside other Lancashire MPs, to discuss the challenges and opportunities currently facing the hospital.
I am also aware of some constituent’s concerns over the future of Royal Preston Hospital. This government is committed to an honest, workable plan to deliver much needed hospital infrastructure across the country, which requires realistic timescales for delivery.
The Royal Preston hospital regrettably requires an estimated £157m in maintenance backlog repairs, with a number of the buildings on the site dating from the 1970s and 1980s now in states of ‘serious dilapidation’. In the interim between a new facility being built, whatever the future may hold for this, it is vital that the Royal Preston receives capital investment to ensure its operational viability and provide patients and staff with a reliable and safe environment to work and be treated in. Myself, as well as neighbouring MPs and the City Council will be lobbying heavily to ensure this is the case.
Moreover, me, Sir Mark Hendrick MP (Preston), and Preston City Council are actively lobbying for the proposed new Royal Preston hospital to remain within the boundaries of Preston, including retaining some use of the current site as well as providing acute care facilities in the centre of Preston, to ensure the hospital remains accessible for all Ribble Valley constituents.
