Without investment, these buildings and services will continue to deteriorate, deepening health inequalities and increasing the burden of ill-health on our population as we seek to build-back after Covid-19. We must also invest in Furness General Hospital to ensure it can continue to serve its geographically isolated population.

The Government has made clear its commitment to addressing key areas of backlog, including cancer care and waiting lists. Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership shares this commitment. Our local NHS aspires not only to be able to keep pace with post-pandemic requirements, but to become a national exemplar for delivering on these as part of the fundamental levelling up that our regions – and in particular those within the North – must drive in order to attract investment, reduce inequalities and create a level playing field for communities across the UK. Investment in new hospital facilities will be a critical enabler for that.

The impact of new hospital funding will reach beyond healthcare alone. As anchor institutions within our region, our hospitals provide healthcare to 1.8m people and employment to 40,000. With the right levels of investment, we can become a catalyst for and driver of positive change.

We want to build the hospital facilities that our patients, staff, local communities and future generations deserve.

Next steps

We want to hear your views on the Case for Change that we have outlined. Do you agree or disagree with our Case for Change? What do you feel is strong, wrong or missing?

As we gather and reflect on your feedback, the New Hospitals Programme team will work with clinical and health system leaders to construct a longlist of possible solutions, which we will publish. We’ll then ask the opinions of our NHS staff, patients and representatives of the public, working with Healthwatch and local voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector organisations (VCFSE), to help us narrow the longlist down to a shortlist of proposals, with only potentially viable option(s) taken forward. These proposals may require a public consultation.