Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Chelsea and Fulham, Greg Hands, confirms that the future of Charing Cross Hospital is secure with the Conservatives.
The local Labour Party is continuing to spread misinformation about the fate of the hospital. Andrew Slaughter, former MP for Hammersmith, and the local Labour Party are wrongly telling residents that the hospital and its A&E department are to close, and that the hospital is being ‘demolished’ because of ‘cuts’ to local NHS services.
However, Greg spoke out at a recent hustings to reassure local residents that Charing Cross Hospital is safe in the Conservatives’ hands. In February, Greg called a meeting with the senior management of the Imperial College NHS Trust, including its Chief Executive Dr Tracey Batten, to ascertain the Trust’s plans for Charing Cross Hospital.
Following the meeting Dr Batten wrote to Greg to provide an update on the Trust’s plans for a new Charing Cross Hospital on the same site in Fulham Palace Road. The Trust has a vision for developing Charing Cross Hospital as a pioneering local hospital. Highlights for the site’s plans include the following:
- £150 million redevelopment
- A wide range of specialist and planned care, including: day case surgery and treatment, one-stop diagnostic clinics, outpatients, chemotherapy, and renal dialysis
- Integrated care and rehabilitation services, especially for elderly people and those with chronic conditions
- An Emergency Centre
- Existing partner services to be co-located, including mental health and cancer support
As well as a redevelopment of the Charing Cross site, the Trust’s strategy proposes a significant redevelopment of the St Mary’s site, and a smaller redevelopment of the Hammersmith site (where Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital would remain co-located).
The Trust has a made a bid for capital investment to fund the proposals, which is awaiting approval by the North West London Clinical Commissioning Group of GPs (CCGs). Once approved the plans will go to NHS England and the NHS Trust Development Authority for consideration.
The Trust anticipates milestones to include approval of the outline plan in 2015/16, and approval for the final plans in 2016/17. This would then enable a three-year construction programme to begin, which is currently expected to last until the end of 2020/21.
Chelsea and Fulham Conservative Candidate, Greg Hands, said “Charing Cross is an excellent and valued hospital, with which I have deep personal ties, and just several months ago I underwent an operation there. The rebuilding will leave it capable of providing even better services in the future, becoming a leading centre of excellence for elective surgery.
“In contrast to some misinformation from other sources, the Trust confirmed to me personally that it is proposing a brand-new hospital with an Accident & Emergency department.
“The continued scaremongering of residents about Charing Cross Hospital by the Labour Party is unacceptable. Andrew Slaughter, former MP for Hammersmith, is still claiming this week that Charing Cross Hospital remains under threat, and refuses to acknowledge its regeneration. The plan put in place by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is to provide the best possible services at the hospital and ensure that patient care remains the priority. To my knowledge, Mr Slaughter has not had any similar meeting with the Chief Executive of the Trust to get the facts straight as I have, and it now seems clear that he does not intend to stop his misleading campaign nor start behaving responsibly.”