Leighton Hospital bosses have bought land next to the existing site in the next step to develop a new hospital campus.
The areas of land, which surrounds the current hospital, will become part of the new Leighton site (pictured).
Ian Moston, Mid Cheshire Hospitals CEO, believes it is a moment to “truly celebrate”.
He said: “This is a major milestone in the journey to removing our risk from Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) and looking towards our new estate.
“By purchasing this land we can begin to finalise our plans to develop a world-class health and care campus for our local community.
“A new site that will deliver first-rate care for patients – transforming health outcomes and addressing health inequality for our local population.”
Russ Favager, of Leighton New Hospital Programme and Estates Redevelopment, said the land purchase further cements a commitment to the national programme of New Hospitals.
He said: “We are fully supportive of the Hospital 2.0 model and are delighted to be a reference site for the development of the standardised approach.
“We are confident in the huge benefits this approach will bring for our people, our patients and the local health and care system.
“These benefits will be seen not only in the way health and care is planned and delivered but also in the social value that this significant investment will bring to support the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of our local communities.
“To get to this stage is testimony to the collaborative approach to working together across Mid Cheshire Hospitals Trust, our partners, and the national programme team.
“As we move through the planning and business case development stages we are committed to this partnership approach, continuing the close working with our local health and care partners as well as the national New Hospital Programme Team in order to drive forward with our ambitions to deliver our New Leighton campus by 2030.”
In the future, the land will be surrounded by dedicated fencing and the Trust will be inviting local organisations, schools and charities to be involved, sharing plans for a new hospital.
Dr Clare Hammell, the Trust’s Chief Medical Officer and Deputy CEO, believes the plans should be developed in partnership with the people and communities that will work and use the services.
She said: “This is the beginning of our exciting programme of engagement and involvement.
“By working together to design services we can ensure that our plans transform services for people’s needs today and those of our communities in the future.”
Crewe and Nantwich MP Dr Kieran Mullan welcomed the news.
He said: “It is great to see this project achieve this key milestone. Thank you to the team from Leighton for all of their hard work.
“Since becoming an MP, I and others have campaigned hard for this rebuild, which is a part of the Government’s Hospital Building Programme and will receive millions of pounds in funding.”
Further details of the plans for the New Leighton Campus will be shared through Mid Cheshire Hospital’s website.
(Pic below: areas of land, which surround the current hospital, will become part of the new Leighton site (marked as areas 1, 2, 3 and 4 on this map)
Cannot help but think this will be a mistake. Leighton is a poorly run institution focused on KPIs as opposed to patient outcomes. It needs leadership who can grasp the idea that being an hospital of everything is not the way forward but to focus on 3-4 key areas for what it could become “ famous “ for is both logical as it is commercially sensible. My guess is the current narrow minded execs and their ancient non execs will simply move the hospital from pre-war thinking to 70s thinking. Remember doing what always has been done, expecting different outcome is “ madness “
Any chance of adding one or two car parking spaces. Just askin’