Last week, Greg welcomed senior management of the Imperial College NHS Trust to the House of Commons. Greg called the meeting to get the latest on the plans for a new Charing Cross Hospital on the existing site on Fulham Palace Road.
Following the meeting, the Chief Executive of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Dr Tracy Batten, has written to Greg to provide an update on the Trust’s plans for a new Charing Cross Hospital on the same site in Fulham Palace Road.
Highlights for the site’s plans include the following:
- £150 million redevelopment
- A wide range of specialist and planned care, including: day case surgery and treatment, one-stop diagnostic clinics, outpatients, chemotherapy, and renal dialysis
- Integrated care and rehabilitation services, especially for elderly people and those with chronic conditions
- An Emergency Centre
- Existing partner services to be co-located, including mental health and cancer support
As well as a redevelopment of the Charing Cross site, the Trust’s strategy proposes a significant redevelopment of the St Mary’s site, and a smaller redevelopment of the Hammersmith site (where Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital would remain co-located).
The Trust has a made a bid for capital investment to fund the proposals, which is currently awaiting approval by the North West London Clinical Commissioning Groups of GPs (CCGs). Once approved the plans will go to NHS England and the NHS Trust Development Authority for consideration.
The Trust anticipate milestones to include approval of the outline plan in 2015/16, and approval for the final plans in 2016/17. This would then enable a three-year construction programme to begin, which is currently expected to last until the end of 2020/21.
Chelsea and Fulham MP, Greg Hands, said “It was helpful to meet Dr Batten and her team, to hear first-hand about their plans for the redevelopment and rebuilding of Charing Cross Hospital. The public will welcome the Trust being able to lay out some more detail of their vision.
“Charing Cross is an excellent and valued hospital, with which I have deep personal ties. The rebuilding will leave it capable of providing even better services in the future, becoming a leading centre of excellence for elective surgery.
“In contrast to some misinformation from other sources, the Trust has confirmed to me personally that it is proposing a brand-new hospital with Accident & Emergency. And whilst it is true that the concrete tower block which is no longer fit for purpose will be demolished, this will be only after the new and improved hospital is up and running.
“The local Labour Party has been deliberately spreading misinformation and scaremongering about the fate of the hospital. Andrew Slaughter MP and Labour have repeatedly told residents, wrongly, that the hospital and its A&E department is to close. Only this week, Mr Slaughter has put leaflets through resident’s doors clamming that ‘Charing Cross Hospital remains under threat of demolition’, without any reference to the new hospital on the same site. He has been told directly by both the Health Secretary and the Prime Minister that he is not telling local people the whole truth, and now he has it from the doctors of the hospital, and no less than the Chief Executive. I hope now that Mr Slaughter will stop his misleading campaign, and start representing his constituents responsibly, instead of continuing to try and spread fear and score points out of an issue on which he is plainly wrong.”