Hospitals
Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts(1 week, 2 days ago)
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Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)
I will focus my speech specifically on Hinchingbrooke hospital, and highlight some key issues that will impact delivery of our new hospital in Huntingdon. During the general election campaign, I pledged to fight for the resources to rebuild Hinchingbrooke, and I will continue to push this Labour Government to ensure that they follow through on the programme they committed to deliver.
In May 2023, the then Health Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for North East Cambridgeshire (Steve Barclay), announced that Hinchingbrooke was part of the Government’s new hospital programme. Since that time, I have been concerned that this Government are not acting with enough haste to address the issues faced at Hinchingbrooke. There has been a lack of clarity, particularly regarding the ongoing traffic issues around Hinchingbrooke and the lack of a firm commitment to upgrade the road network as part of the project, which has caused concerns across my constituency.
While I welcome the fact that Hinchingbrooke is rightly in wave 1 of the programme, we need clarity on the timeframe. Although this Government are aware of the RAAC issues, they have still not given a detailed timeframe as to when we will get our hospital built; there is a vague start date, but no completion date. Crucially, in September 2024, the Minister for Secondary Care confirmed in a written answer to me that the detailed structural assessment of Hinchingbrooke hospital in 2022
“estimated that the remaining life of the RAAC panels”
extended to “approximately 2030”, even after
“the installation of fail-safe steelwork.”
In February, she stated that this summer, the Government will publish a report
“assessing the clinical and operational impacts of the running of the existing hospital beyond the estimated life of the current hospital site”.
With the delays already caused by road access and grid access, and the lack of clarity about a start date or a completion date, what assurances can the Minister give that my constituents will not find themselves in a condemned hospital building after 2030, with the DHSC simply owning the risk that it will collapse? If the new hospital is to be completed by 2030, we need plans, action, and focus on making sure that any changes are usable, safe and fit for purpose, with no more delays.
In short, the following issues must be addressed in order for Hinchingbrooke to be delivered: the programme business case for the NHP must receive ministerial approval; a hospital 2.0-compliant design must be approved and delivered; a capital envelope of at least £900 million and a realistic contingency must be allocated; and mobilisation of the programme must be quick. It is clear that the 2030 target might now be unreachable, but mobilisation by spring 2026 seems realistic, and I will push the Government and all stakeholders to work towards that target. There also needs to be further work between Hinchingbrooke and the NHP to develop a strategic outline case, and it is crucial that that case is then approved as soon as possible in order to complete the new hospital by as close to 2030 as possible.
We also need grid access that is fit for purpose, as the current grid access will not be sufficient for Hinchingbrooke. Currently, the gap between sufficient grid space being approved and meeting that which is required will be a year—that is clearly not appropriate. There are issues regarding a vital new access road to alleviate traffic. Those issues are caused by land owned jointly by Cambridgeshire constabulary and National Highways. The Government must get all stakeholders around the table to reach a solution, given that they are public bodies.
To conclude, I reaffirm that I will do all I can to work with the Government, the NHS and others to make sure that my constituents get the new hospital they so desperately need.
Oral Answers to Questions
Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Wes Streeting
May I just say how regrettable it is that a sensible shadow Minister is sent along to parrot the absurd lines of her leader?
Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
As I am sure the hon. Member knows, Hinchingbrooke hospital is in wave 1 of the new hospital programme, and his constituents can now look forward to a new hospital under this Labour Government. The hospital has received over £44 million to deliver RAAC mitigation safety works, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has commissioned a site-by-site survey of RAAC hospitals, which will ensure that individual development plans address the highest-risk elements as soon as possible.
Ben Obese-Jecty
Last July, Deborah Lee, the senior responsible officer for the Hinchingbrooke hospital redevelopment programme, stated that the deadline for the new hospital was 2030. In a written answer to me last year, the Minister confirmed that, even after the mitigation measures of failsafe steelwork, the lifespan of the remaining RAAC buildings would run only until approximately 2030. Can the Secretary of State confirm that the rebuild, and all waves of the new hospital programme, will not be delayed by the review of building safety regulations guidance announced by the Deputy Prime Minister in December? Will he assure my constituents that the RAAC buildings at Hinchingbrooke will be safe to use beyond 2030, and if so, will he publish the risk assessment that he has conducted to confirm that?
Karin Smyth
The hon. Gentleman has outlined the shocking state of some hospitals. I confirm again that we want a site-by-site report of those hospitals for exactly that purpose: to ensure that they are safe and to understand any critical issues before the schemes go forward. We expect that report in the summer.
New Hospital Programme Review
Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
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Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)
Hinchingbrooke hospital in Huntingdon is one of the RAAC hospitals for which funding has already been approved. That hospital will not be allocated grid space until quarter 1 of 2028, but it will need it by Q1 2027 in order to keep the build on track. Additionally, traffic around the hospital is frequently gridlocked. A vital new access road is part of the plans, but the land where it would go is owned by Cambridgeshire constabulary and National Highways, who are yet to give up the additional land they acquired via compulsory purchase order when constructing Views Common Road. Will the Health Secretary meet me in order to work through those blockers—given that they are all being caused by Government agencies—and meet Hinchingbrooke hospital’s 2030 delivery date, and can he confirm that the 2030 date is still the target?
Wes Streeting
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his representations. This Government are on the side of the builders, not the blockers. I can confirm to him that we are determined to start Hinchingbrooke in 2027-28. We work closely with the local project team, but we would be delighted to receive representations about his frustrations with the delivery of that project.
Oral Answers to Questions
Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts(5 months, 1 week ago)
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Stephen Kinnock
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. We are looking at provisional registration. As I also mentioned to his hon. Friend the Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew), we are very open to the idea of a dental training school at the University of East Anglia. We need to ensure that we push on the full spectrum of all these measures, because there is a crisis in NHS dentistry and we need to get on and fix it.
Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)
Toothless in Huntingdon in my constituency has written to me highlighting that 36% of patients under Cambridgeshire and Peterborough integrated care system no longer have an NHS dentist. It wants dental practices to provide access to those needing emergency treatment and a priority pathway for referrals from hospital departments such as cardiology and oncology. To that extent, what steps are being taken in Huntingdonshire to improve dental access across rural Cambridgeshire? How are the Government helping the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough integrated care system to address those issues?
Stephen Kinnock
Obviously the golden hello scheme for rural areas is very important. We are pushing forward on that, and I am pleased to say that hundreds have expressed interest in it and appointments are starting on that basis. The hon. Gentleman is right about training places. As I have already mentioned, we are very open to establishments and institutions coming forward with proposals for that. We are living in a country where the biggest cause of hospital admission for five to nine-year-olds is having their rotten teeth removed. That is a truly Dickensian state of affairs, and it needs to be fixed as a priority.