Council welcomes New Hospital Programme at Leighton Hospital

Cheshire East Council has welcomed plans to improve and re-develop the campus at Leighton Hospital as part of the government’s New Hospital Programme.

On Tuesday last week (15 August), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Lord Markham CBE along with the New Hospital Programme (NHP) team, visited the Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s (MCHFT) Leighton Hospital.

Built in the 1970s, Leighton Hospital has been prioritised due to the significant amount of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the hospital and as a part of government plans to build 40 new hospitals across England by 2030.

The new facility would be built to the so-called Hospital 2.0 model which means it will be constructed using modern methods and with pre-fabricated parts made off-site, ready to be assembled at Leighton Hospital. Unlike the current hospital, the Hospital 2.0 model will be designed to be easily extended using the same modular components, meaning extra wards or floors can easily be added if extra space is needed.

Lord Markham officially opened a new two ward building featuring a mixture of single and multi-bed bays, a specialist physiotherapy area used for occupational therapy, physiotherapy interventions, and to aid post-surgery recovery, along with a patient day room.

Whilst at the hospital, Lord Markham and the NHP team attended roundtable discussions, a lunchtime marketplace and a site walkabout where they met the Trust executive team, system stakeholders, staff and patients. Also in attendance was the leader of Cheshire East Council, Councillor Sam Corcoran, Councillor Jill Rhodes, chair of the council’s adults and health committee and Dr Lorraine O’Donnell, Cheshire East Council chief executive.

Councillor Jill Rhodes Cheshire East Council adults and health committee chair said:

“The visit by Lord Markham was a very positive meeting and it was great to see the investment and innovative future plans for Leighton Hospital and state-of-the-art design, making it one of the most advanced health settings in the country.

“Along with the Cheshire East Health and Wellbeing Board, we are looking forward to working even more closely with and supporting the NHS to get a better hospital for our residents which will improve both hospital and community facilities in the area and serve the people of Cheshire for at least the next fifty years.”