Frequently asked questions

The Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop new, cutting-edge hospital facilities that offer the absolute best in modern healthcare. We need to address significant problems with our ageing hospitals in Preston (Royal Preston Hospital) and Lancaster (Royal Lancaster Infirmary). We also need to invest in Furness General Hospital’s infrastructure in the context of its strategic importance and geographically remote location.

The Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme is led by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, working with other health organisations across Lancashire and South Cumbria. For more information about our partners and our team, please visit the About Us page on our website.

In March 2022, we published a shortlist of proposals for new hospital facilities in the region, each designed to address the issues highlighted in our Case for Change report. Read more in our media release announcing the shortlist of proposals.

Following on from the announcement of the shortlist, the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme team has carried out a detailed assessment of the shortlisted options.

Each shortlisted proposal has been comprehensively assessed for deliverability, viability, affordability and value for money. Key elements have been considered to help evaluate each of the shortlisted options. This includes service configuration; what would be required in terms of rooms, beds and other provisions to be able to meet the operational, space and location requirements; and site location options.

This work has resulted in recommendations for preferred options and alternative options for both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary. The NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria has stated its preference for new hospitals on new sites for both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary as part of the New Hospitals Programme.

In May 2023 the Government announced two new hospitals to replace the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital as part of a rolling programme of national investment in capital infrastructure beyond 2030. This will also include investment in improvements to Furness General Hospital.

The existing Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital sites will remain in place and deliver services to our population until new hospital facilities are opened. What this means for future hospital services needs to be worked through.

The detail behind each option will continue to be expanded and refined as further work on the shortlist progresses and the required business cases are developed.

Further detailed work is underway to assess the viability of potential locations for new hospital builds for both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary. Following an initial land search, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria is assessing the deliverability of each site, including environmental and planning considerations, capacity for utilities and high-level design, as well as undertaking travel and transport analysis to understand the accessibility of each site. There is still a lot of work to be completed in this area and additional sites may emerge over the coming period. Further information will be shared in due course.

No final decisions have been made and the New Hospitals Programme team will continue to involve patients, local people, staff and wider stakeholders in the development of proposals.

You can read more about this in our May 2023 update.

In May 2023 the Government announced two new hospitals to replace the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital as part of a rolling programme of national investment in capital infrastructure beyond 2030. This will also include investment in improvements to Furness General Hospital.

New hospitals on new sites will be truly transformational, giving us the freedom to design our services and facilities around the needs of our patients and to fully address the issues explained in our Case for Change.

The detail behind each new hospital will continue to be expanded and refined as further work on progresses and the required business cases are developed.

The programme aims to complete the required business cases and be ready to start construction in 2030.

The shortlisted proposals are:

1. A new Royal Lancaster Infirmary on a new site, with partial rebuild / refurbishment of Royal Preston Hospital
2. A new Royal Preston Hospital on a new site, with partial rebuild / refurbishment of Royal Lancaster Infirmary
3. Investment at both Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital, allowing partial rebuilding work on both existing sites
4. Two new hospitals to replace Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital (new sites).

These proposals also include investment in Furness General Hospital, required due to its geographically remote location, its proximity to some of the UK’s major strategic national assets, and its need to meet NHS environmental goals.

In line with NHS guidelines, the shortlisted proposals will be benchmarked against options for no change to, and / or limited investment in, Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital to address the list of tasks that need to be performed to repair or maintain the buildings and keep them in a suitable working condition.

All potential options for new hospitals were appraised against a set of Critical Success Factors to decide whether they should be progressed to the shortlist stage. Only the options that met the Critical Success Factors, including ability to improve services and health outcomes for patients, achievability, ability to address health inequalities, affordability and value for money, were shortlisted. All those discounted from the shortlist did not meet the Critical Success Factors.

Options that have been discounted from the shortlist after detailed consideration are as follows: a single new hospital on a new central site to replace both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary (with some local services to be retained in a new integrated community centres in Preston and Lancaster); a new Royal Lancaster Infirmary on the existing site, with partial rebuild / refurbishment of Royal Preston Hospital; a new Royal Preston Hospital on the existing site, with partial rebuild / refurbishment of Royal Lancaster Infirmary; a new Royal Preston Hospital built on a new site, with the existing Royal Preston Hospital site retained for some services and partial rebuild of Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

In September 2022, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria stated its preference for new hospitals on new sites for both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary (option 4). This followed a comprehensive assessment for deliverability, affordability, value for money, and viability, considering feedback from thousands of patients, local people and staff.

In May 2023 the Government announced two new hospitals to replace the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital as part of a rolling programme of national investment in capital infrastructure beyond 2030. This will also include investment in improvements to Furness General Hospital. With confirmation of Government funding the following options can now be discounted from the shortlist:

1. A new Royal Lancaster Infirmary on a new site, with partial rebuild / refurbishment of Royal Preston Hospital
2. A new Royal Preston Hospital on a new site, with partial rebuild / refurbishment of Royal Lancaster Infirmary Investment at both Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital, allowing partial rebuilding work on both existing sites.

The shortlist was agreed by senior leaders from across the Lancashire and South Cumbria healthcare system, following a formal workshop attended by clinicians, patient representatives, hospital construction, financial and logistics specialists, local NHS leaders and stakeholders. It was endorsed by the Lancashire and South Cumbria Strategic Commissioning Committee on 10 March 2022.

The shortlisted proposals also reflect extensive feedback gathered from more than 12,000 local people, patients, NHS staff, community representatives and stakeholders over the last year, using online workshops and surveys, public opinion research, focus groups, and in-person events and meetings.

First, we held a formal workshop attended by clinicians, patient representatives, hospital construction, financial and logistics specialists, local NHS leaders and stakeholders. During this workshop, each of the proposals included on the previous longlist of proposals was appraised against an agreed set of ‘Critical Success Factors’ or selection criteria. This workshop ensured that key stakeholders were engaged in decision making and had the opportunity to challenge and assist to shape the direction of new hospital facilities.

This workshop produced a recommended shortlist of proposals, which was then discussed and agreed in a meeting with senior health leaders from across Lancashire and South Cumbria. On 10 March 2022, the shortlist of proposals for new hospital facilities was endorsed by the Lancashire and South Cumbria Strategic Commissioning Committee (SCC).

The shortlisted proposals also reflect extensive feedback gathered from more than 12,000 local people, patients, NHS staff, community representatives and stakeholders over the last year, using online workshops and surveys, public opinion research, focus groups, and in-person events and meetings.

Each of the potential options for new hospital facilities was appraised against the following set of critical success factors (selection criteria) to help assess whether they should be progressed to shortlist stage:

Does the option:

1. Provide patients with high-quality, next generation hospital facilities that will improve health outcomes across our population?
2. Improve service delivery and provide access to cutting-edge hospital technologies and deliver the best possible quality of care?
3. Meet demand needs of the health population and is it flexible and sustainable?
4. Increase resource capacity and effectiveness, working collaboratively to increase integration in service delivery?
5. Address health inequalities and meet the health needs of the people of Lancashire and South Cumbria now and in the future?
6. Deliver value for money i.e. economic, social and environmental?

Is the option:

7. Deliverable by potential suppliers i.e. does the construction market have capacity to deliver and do market participants have the necessary capability and experience?
8. Potentially affordable i.e. does it make best use of financial resources; does it provide more operationally efficient estate?
9. Potentially achievable i.e. is it deliverable within the land area available; is it likely to achieve planning approval; will it minimise disruption to services?

New hospitals on new sites would bring significant health and care system wide benefits. They would fully address the Case for Change; improve care for patients; improve the work environment for staff; meet environmental commitments, such as Net Zero Carbon; and maximise the wider socio-economic potential.

New builds on new sites offer the best clinical, operational and efficiency benefits and meet the requirements set out by the national New Hospital Programme, such as delivering environmentally friendly and sustainable hospitals, digitally-enabled with more single en-suite rooms.

Read more about Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS recommendations for new hospitals in new locations for Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

We don’t yet know where any new buildings on new sites would be located.

Work is underway to assess the viability of potential locations for new hospital builds for both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary. Following an initial land search, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria is assessing the deliverability of each site, including environmental and planning considerations, capacity for utilities and high-level design, as well as undertaking travel and transport analysis to understand the accessibility of each site. There is still a lot of work to be completed in this area and additional sites may emerge over the coming period. Further information will be shared in due course.

We don’t yet know where any new buildings on new sites would be located.

Work is underway to assess the viability of potential locations for a new hospital build for Royal Preston Hospital. Following an initial land search, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria is assessing the deliverability of each site, including environmental and planning considerations, capacity for utilities and high-level design, as well as undertaking travel and transport analysis to understand the accessibility of each site. There is still a lot of work to be completed in this area and additional sites may emerge over the coming period. Further information will be shared in due course.

A new build on a new site would be within around a 10-mile radius of the current Royal Preston Hospital site.

We don’t yet know where any new buildings on new sites would be located.

Work is underway to assess the viability of potential locations for a new hospital build for Royal Lancaster Infirmary. Following an initial land search, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria is assessing the deliverability of each site, including environmental and planning considerations, capacity for utilities and high-level design, as well as undertaking travel and transport analysis to understand the accessibility of each site. There is still a lot of work to be completed in this area and additional sites may emerge over the coming period. Further information will be shared in due course.

A new build on a new site would be within around a 10-mile radius of the current Royal Lancaster Infirmary site.

Work is underway to assess the viability of potential locations for new hospital builds for both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary. Following an initial land search, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria is assessing the deliverability of each site, including environmental and planning considerations, capacity for utilities and high-level design, as well as undertaking travel and transport analysis to understand the accessibility of each site. There is still a lot of work to be completed in this area and additional sites may emerge over the coming period. Further information will be shared in due course.

No final decisions have been made and the New Hospitals Programme team will continue to involve patients, local people, staff and wider stakeholders in the development of proposals.

We will keep staff informed at all stages of the process and welcome feedback as we develop proposals.

We don’t yet know where any new buildings on new sites would be located.

Work is underway to assess the viability of potential locations for new hospital builds for both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary. Following an initial land search, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria is assessing the deliverability of each site, including environmental and planning considerations, capacity for utilities and high-level design, as well as undertaking travel and transport analysis to understand the accessibility of each site. There is still a lot of work to be completed in this area and additional sites may emerge over the coming period. Further information will be shared in due course.

Each of the shortlisted proposals for new hospital facilities in Lancashire and South Cumbria also includes investment in Furness General Hospital. This is required due to its geographically remote location, its proximity to some of the UK’s major strategic national assets, and its need to meet NHS environmental goals.

Investment in Furness General Hospital would mean better care and a better experience for patients and staff, particularly for patients who need critical or high dependency care and people receiving emergency care. The number of single rooms would be increased, to create flexible space that could be used to keep patients separated for infection control or could be adapted for other uses, for example to treat patients who need closer levels of monitoring. Digital technologies would be brought in to support a network of care across Lancashire and South Cumbria. This would link up doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to work together on treatment for patients.

We are still at an early stage in proposals development and will be working closely with clinicians, patients and national bodies on how services will be provided. The current work has been based on the same services being delivered in the new hospital facilities. We are also working with experts to explore how digital technologies, new medical treatments and hospital design (for example, single occupancy rooms) might affect how you receive your care. Accessibility will be a key consideration in developing proposals for new hospitals on new sites.

Whilst bed numbers will depend on a number of factors, including provision of care in and closer to home, individual room provision etc., we are currently planning to have similar bed numbers to what we have today.

There is significant learning from the Covid-19 pandemic that we are building in our plans for the new facilities. The most notable is a commitment to make at least 70% of all rooms single occupancy, with en-suite facilities. There are many other lessons learnt that we hope to include regarding reducing the risks of infection, improving the co-location of services, and increasing the choice and availability of care at home.

The New Hospitals Programme has not included any proposed changes for maternity services. Across Lancashire and South Cumbria, the NHS is currently implementing improvements in maternity services in-line with the recommendations from the recent Ockenden report.

The New Hospitals Programme is working closely with Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust to ensure the new facilities improve on the integration of physical and mental health services. For example, co-locating emergency mental health services close to the Emergency Department (A&E).

Local people’s ability to access the care they need is an absolute priority. We believe that better, more efficient hospital facilities will reduce waiting lists and hospital stay times. We also want to use digital technology to create a network of services for local people, meaning hospitals can work together more effectively, and patients can access pioneering treatment either in person or remotely, closer to home.

Being able to recruit and retain staff is one of the major reasons we need investment in new hospital facilities and is an important part of our Case for Change – better hospital facilities will allow us to more easily attract and keep staff.

Our hospitals employ 40,000 staff across the region but find it difficult to find enough skilled staff to operate effectively. This places pressure on our already very hardworking staff and leaves many hospital services heavily reliant on costly agency staff.

This is now a significant – and increasing – issue for both our ability to operate, and our sustainability as a health service within the region.

Our staff tell us they want a working environment that supports their wellbeing, and where they can treat and care for patients with the space and facilities they need to perform their roles to the standard that they and patients expect. We also need hospitals that allow us to stay at the forefront of research and education and attract the best clinical experts.

Yes – delivering on our net zero carbon obligations and the Greener NHS programme (opens in new window) will be a key consideration of our proposals and of new hospital facilities designs, in line with national NHS priorities. Our hospital investment plans will be designed with sustainability at their centre, minimising our environmental footprint as part of the NHS’s zero carbon goal.

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our hospitals and the services we provide for local people. By successfully delivering this New Hospitals Programme, every person in the Lancashire and South Cumbria area will have world-leading hospital care and facilities on their doorstep, when they need them.

This commitment to continuous quality improvements in our hospitals will help local people live longer, healthier lives.

All funding for the New Hospitals Programme will be provided by the Government. As part of its commitment to fund NHS service improvements, the Government has given us the opportunity to secure a significant financial investment for our region to do something amazing.

In May 2023 the Government announced two new hospitals to replace the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital as part of a rolling programme of national investment in capital infrastructure beyond 2030. This will also include investment in improvements to Furness General Hospital.

With confirmed funding for our local NHS hospital facilities, we want to make Lancashire and South Cumbria a world-leading centre of excellence for hospital care, and extensive research completed by the New Hospitals Programme will help to inform the best solutions which will result in better health outcomes for local people.

You can find out more about local NHS infrastructure projects across the country on the Improving NHS Infrastructure website (opens in new window).

Any new hospital facilities developed under the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme will be NHS hospitals.

All hospitals in our region have standard NHS funding for regular maintenance and repairs. This is a part of core Trust budgets and is not part of the New Hospitals Programme.

The funding for the New Hospitals Programme has been granted to address the condition of Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital, which have reached a critical stage. We also need to invest in Furness General Hospital’s infrastructure, in the context of its strategic importance and geographically remote location.

Investing in these hospitals will positively impact health services across our entire region and help deliver on our ambition to make our regional health system one of the best in the world.

As outlined in the Case for Change report, the NHS in our region has prioritised the need to address significant issues with our ageing hospitals in Preston and Lancaster. There’s also a need for investment in Furness General Hospital in the context of its strategic importance and geographically remote location. The Chorley and South Ribble Hospital and Westmorland General Hospital sites are more modern, with fewer backlog maintenance challenges. Where investment is needed at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital or Westmorland General Hospital, the hospital Trusts will continue to support this as part of their core budgets.

Absolutely. This is a major priority for us in developing our solutions and designing new facilities. We will look at the experience that patients, families and carers have when they visit our hospitals and our proposals will be informed by the views and feedback of local people, staff and patients.

We want to offer privacy and dignity through more single rooms, create the space for our staff to care for patients in the way they would like, and build more dedicated relaxation spaces for our staff, families and visitors to our hospitals.

We will also help people avoid the need to go to hospital altogether by offering complex care closer to home, improving community health and wellbeing services and overall experience for local people.

Hearing and reflecting the views of people living in Lancashire and South Cumbria is an essential part of shaping plans and proposals for new hospital facilities. We are following a clear and thorough process to give everyone the opportunity to have their say and help shape the future of hospital care in our region.

Our proposals will be led by the needs of our patients, staff and local people. Getting feedback from those who may be most impacted by any possible change – including our NHS staff, patients and representatives of the public – is a fundamental part of our process in developing proposals.

The shortlisted proposals reflect extensive feedback gathered from more than 12,000 local people, patients, NHS staff, community representatives and stakeholders over the last year, using online workshops and surveys, public opinion research, focus groups, and in-person events and meetings.

As of 31 August 2022, 15,579 different people across the region have got involved in the discussion about new hospital facilities. You can read more about what we have been talking to people about and why, who we have heard from and what we heard in the Your Hospitals, Your Say report.

Find out more about how to get involved.

Providing exceptional patient care is always our number one priority. At each stage of the programme, we will work to ensure that everyone can continue to access the hospital care they need.

Improving access to hospital services is one of the big drivers behind the programme. We aim to expand the range of medical procedures and therapies available to you in our region, which will mean less need to travel further afield.

In line with the Government’s commitment to continuous quality improvement in hospitals, we will also create new, cutting-edge facilities that feature the latest digital technologies. These will provide patients with access to pioneering treatment either in person or remotely, closer to home where possible.

In May 2023 the Government announced two new hospitals to replace the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital as part of a rolling programme of national investment in capital infrastructure beyond 2030. This will also include investment in improvements to Furness General Hospital in the context of its strategic importance and geographically remote location.

The existing Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary sites will remain in place and deliver services to our population until new hospital facilities are opened.

In May 2023 the Government announced two new hospitals to replace the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital as part of a rolling programme of national investment in capital infrastructure beyond 2030. This will also include investment in improvements to Furness General Hospital in the context of its strategic importance and geographically remote location.

The programme aims to complete the required business cases and be ready to start construction in 2030.

Work is underway to assess the viability of potential locations. Following an initial land search, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria is assessing the deliverability of each site, including environmental and planning considerations, capacity for utilities and high-level design, as well as undertaking travel and transport analysis to understand the accessibility of each site. There is still a lot of work to be completed in this area and additional sites may emerge over the coming period. Further information will be shared in due course.

In May 2023 the Government announced two new hospitals to replace the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital as part of a rolling programme of national investment in capital infrastructure beyond 2030. This will also include investment in improvements to Furness General Hospital in the context of its strategic importance and geographically remote location.

After engaging widely with patients, staff, GPs and primary care colleagues, local communities, elected representatives and other stakeholders, we will submit our business cases to the NHS and the Government for approval. The final decision will sit with them.

The programme aims to complete the required business cases and be ready to start construction in 2030.

In May 2023 the Government announced two new hospitals to replace the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital as part of a rolling programme of national investment in capital infrastructure beyond 2030. This will also include investment in improvements to Furness General Hospital in the context of its strategic importance and geographically remote location.

It is too early to say what impact any changes might have. We will take every step possible to ensure that any impact on current hospital services is kept to an absolute minimum throughout.

The NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria has stated its preference for new hospitals on new sites for both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary as part of the New Hospitals Programme.

In May 2023 the Government announced two new hospitals to replace the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Royal Preston Hospital as part of a rolling programme of national investment in capital infrastructure beyond 2030. This will also include investment in improvements to Furness General Hospital in the context of its strategic importance and geographically remote location.

The existing Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary sites will remain in place and deliver services to our population until new hospital facilities are opened.

Until the detail behind each option has been expanded and refined and the required business cases are developed, it is not possible to state what would happen to the old hospital sites. Further information will be published when available.

Feedback from the public is an essential part of informing our proposals and we have been seeking their views through a range of channels, including face-to-face roadshow events in local communities led by Healthwatch Together (opens in new window), our website, in online workshops and using public research. We will continue to ask for feedback from local people through a variety of different channels, including face-to-face, telephone and online.

For more information on how to have your say, please visit our get involved page.

We are not in public consultation at this point. We are at an earlier stage in the process. We are currently gathering initial feedback from staff, health experts, patient representatives and members of the public to help inform potential proposals on new hospital facilities. This work will continue to ensure local people’s views are gathered and reflected.

We are hugely grateful to everyone who has taken the time to share their views on proposals for new hospital facilities. Your feedback has helped inform the process so far.

Later in the process, we may need to hold a public consultation, depending on the proposals put forward for consideration.

We are actively speaking with a wide range of stakeholders regarding new hospital facilities during the options development period, including NHS staff, patient representatives, members of the public and local MPs and councillors. We will continue to ensure that we listen to those who could be most impacted by changes to local hospital facilities.

We have published the Your Hospitals, Your Say report which details who we have heard from. Read our Your Hospitals, Your Say report here.

We warmly welcome your feedback – find out how you can get involved.

The Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme will only be a success, and deliver NHS service improvements, if it meets the needs of you – our patients, staff and local people.

We’ll be guided by clinical opinion, experience, scientific evidence and data, and all of this will be combined with your feedback and ideas.

Visit our get involved page for more information on the various ways you can provide feedback and to connect with us through our social media channels.