Wells MP James Heappey has welcomed the ‘major investment’ announced by the Government in two hospitals serving his constituency, amounting to £900million.
The Government announced the largest ever hospital building programme and two Somerset hospitals have been included in the scheme.
Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton and the Royal United Hospital in Bath will both receive immediate funding with £900 million provisionally allocated for a replacement hospital in Taunton and a full rebuild of the RUH in Bath.
Both hospitals have been included in the second phase of work meaning the building work would take place between 2025-2030.
Musgrove and RUH play a key role in the Wells constituency, which includes Shepton Mallet, Burnham-on-Sea, Street and Glastonbury and Mr Heappey is pleased to see the Government making the NHS a priority and allowing both hospitals to move forward.
Mr Heappey said: “This is amazing news for the Wells Constituency with the two main hospitals serving our community both included in the scheme. £450 million is provisionally allocated for a replacement hospital in Taunton and the same amount for a full rebuild of the RUH in Bath. Both trusts will receive money immediately to fully develop their plans and the hospitals will be built in the second half of the next decade.
“I’ve been campaigning for major investment in our local NHS and I’m absolutely thrilled to see nearly a billion pounds now allocated to deliver the world class health service people in Somerset deserve. This is truly amazing news for our county.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson added: “When I became Prime Minister, I promised to make sure that money for the NHS gets directly to the front line, so that patients consistently receive world-class care and NHS staff have the resources they need to provide this incredible service day in, day out. We’re already delivering on this, upgrading hospitals across the country. And today we’re investing more money to support our NHS. We’re providing additional funding for 40 new hospitals to be built over the next decade. This will transform our NHS for millions of patients and hard-working staff.
“I’ve spent the past two months visiting hospitals across the country, and I’ve seen first-hand the need to invest in our hospitals. We need to get Brexit done by October 31 so we can focus on investing in our NHS, providing more resources for staff and world-leading care for patients.”
