Local MP for Hastings and Rye, Sally-Ann Hart, has secured hundreds of millions of pounds in vital funding for The Conquest Hospital.
Working alongside the local NHS Trust, local authorities and fellow East Sussex MPs, Sally-Ann got confirmation yesterday (2 October) from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, that the East Sussex NHS Trust will be included as part of the 40 new hospitals and upgrades around England, as promised in the Conservative Party manifesto.
This funding will go towards an expansion and redevelopment of The Conquest Hospital, a brand-new hospital in Eastbourne and development of the Bexhill hospital.
On hearing the announcement, Sally-Ann said, “I am thrilled that the local NHS Trust that includes The Conquest hospital, has been awarded hundreds of millions of pounds as part of the Conservative Party’s election manifesto commitment to build 40 new hospitals around England. This funding will go towards the redevelopment and construction of the three hospitals in Hastings, Eastbourne and Bexhill.
“I want to thank all those who have worked hard to put together the business case for this funding, have campaigned to get this investment and fought to see improvements to our local health services. From our NHS Trust staff, to local authorities, local campaign groups and my fellow MPs - Huw Merriman, Caroline Ansell, Nus Ghani and Maria Caulfield. We all pulled together to ensure we got the funding our area needs to improve and enhance our local health services.
“This is a great day for Hastings and Rye and all local residents! We can now look forwards to a bright future for our hospital and local health services.”
This funding is part of the £3.7 billion for 40 hospitals that the Government has promised to build over the next 10 years. These comprise the Health Infrastructure Plan – the biggest hospital building programme in a generation.
This investment will be on top of the record extra £33.9 billion a year by 2023 to 2024 that the government is providing to the NHS and passed into law this year. It also comes on top of the £450 million for 142 A&E upgrades we announced this summer ahead of winter to improve infection control and increase capacity, as well, of course, as the 20 hospital upgrades the Prime Minister announced last year.
“All told this is a massive programme of improvement for our area. Local residents and staff can now look forwards to a bright future of high quality health care in state of the art hospitals. This is a fantastic result and one I hope the whole town will get behind”, said Sally-Ann.