Kettering MP promises to lobby for more cash for KGH's "exciting" plan

Kettering's MP says he's "100 per cent on board" in helping the town's hospital lobby the Government for further cash so more phases of its rebuild plan can take place.

So far KGH has £396m in funding to help rebuild the hospital on its Rothwell Road site and has drawn up a five-phase plan which would ultimately cost about £1.1bn.

But hospital bosses say they need to get to the end of phase three to see a meaningful difference - which would need a total of £765m - and that the money they currently have won't get them to the end of the second phase.

The Conservative told the Northants Telegraph: “I fully support KGH’s exciting preferred plan for the hospital’s rebuild and I am 100 per cent on board in helping KGH lobby the Government for more funding.

"Together, over the last year, the three local MPs for the Northants Telegraph area and KGH have had major success in winning extra funding for our local hospital.

"In the last year we have successfully lobbied for £46m to fund a new urgent care hub on the KGH site and for £350m towards the phased rebuild of the hospital. In addition, the Government has written off £167m of debt owed by the KGH trust. This is a total of £563m so far, and £563m more than we had in 2019.

"We do, however, need to go further and we will all be working together to secure even more funding so that KGH’s ambitious plans can be fully realised."

KGH group chief executive Simon Weldon said he was grateful for the cash they had received but that it wouldn't provide the new hospital people had been promised.

He said: "For too long Kettering's hospital has been the forgotten place and I don't want it to be the forgotten place any more.

"I've been fortunate in my career to work in some fantastic places and some fantastic buildings and I don't believe that healthcare should be a postcode lottery...we should be under no illusion that around us are a number of hospitals that are being rebuilt.

"Leicester has got a major cash injection, Oxford has got great buildings, Nottingham has. So why not us? Why should we be the left out ones?"

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We have committed to funding 40 hospitals which will be completed by 2030 and eight further schemes invited to bid for funding, with the first £3.7bn of investment confirmed for the next four years.

“Full funding for the new Kettering General Hospital will be finalised alongside their business case, which will be carefully evaluated to ensure it demonstrates best value for money for the taxpayer and meets the needs of staff and local people.”