What we heard: staff, Trust Members, patients and VCFSE representatives

Between 20 April and 4 July 2021, more than 1,000 NHS staff, Trust Members, patient representatives and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector representatives joined the first Big Chat conversation to share their hopes, fears, and desires for new hospital facilities in Lancashire and South Cumbria. Together they shared nearly 5,000 contributions, making more than 7,000 visits to the Big Chat website.

Travel and location were the most discussed issues. There was strong support for a solution that embraced holistic patient-centred care and tackled health inequality. There was also high demand for sustainability to be a priority. The most controversial discussion came over the concept of a “super hospital” – a single new hospital on a new central site.

What we heard: NHS staff

A total of 879 staff attended two dedicated online New Hospitals Programme Colleague Summits in May and June 2021. Most of the questions and points raised during Colleague Summits echoed the themes from the Big Chat. Participants were also interested in what would happen to the existing hospital sites, including how the transition would be managed to ensure no gap or drop in patient experience.

"The NHS has set out a plan to deliver net zero carbon services by 2040, called Greener NHS. New infrastructure and related digital services will be crucial to building more efficient spaces, using them more effectively and reducing travel by providing care closer to home. New hospital facilities in Lancashire and South Cumbria will follow this approach. Playing our part in a greener NHS."

Steven Hipwell, Digital Lead for the New Hospitals Programme

What we heard: health inclusion groups

Healthwatch Together (opens in new window) was commissioned to facilitate engagement with health inclusion groups to share their thoughts on key themes within the Case for Change. Contributors expressed their hopes for hospital sites with a well-thought-out design that caters to the needs of various groups and made suggestions for new functional spaces. They also discussed the need for holistic care, tackling health inequalities and patient-centred care. Participants expressed fears and concerns about having a single new hospital to replace Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary. Their main concerns were about services being located too far away, potential difficulties navigating and travelling around the hospital, and treatment and care not being sufficiently patient-centred.

What we heard: patients

Patients were invited to take part in an online survey, which was open from December 2021 and remained live until March 2022. They told us that they want improved facilities and services for patients and staff, including places to eat and make meals; amenities for children; and adequate and improved staff facilities. Over half of respondents (56%), when prompted, felt it was important to have private, individual rooms for consultations and treatments, and this was particularly high for those answering from the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (71%). A similar proportion (57%) wanted any new hospitals to be environmentally friendly, by which most meant driving down carbon emissions through effective design, or transport options (e.g., electric vehicle chargers or cycle routes).

"It’s important that a hospital would be environmentally friendly, and I think it would cut costs."

Member of the public, Lancashire