New emergency hospital will be built at Cramlington
Jul 29 2010 by William Green, Political Editor
A HEALTH Minister has moved to calm fears that spending cuts will affect plans for a new £75m hospital in the North East.
Simon Burns said planning permission was being sought for the site and further development work was under way after Hexham MP Guy Opperman raised the future of the emergency hospital in Cramlington, Northumberland, during a Parliamentary debate.
The developments come after The Journal last year revealed the new specialist emergency care hospital, near the junction of the A19 and A189 near Cramlington, was part of a £200m revamp of health care in the region.
Under the 10-year plan, a further £125m will go on upgrading North Tyneside and Wansbeck general hospitals – although they would no longer have emergency departments.
Community hospitals in Berwick, Haltwhistle and Morpeth will also be upgraded under the proposals set out by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Speaking in Parliament, Hexham MP Guy Opperman raised the issue of the proposed Cramlington hospital.
He said: “I have been told by health officials in the local primary care trust and the strategic health authority that there is no difficulty with the hospital going ahead because the funding is assured.
“Although health has not been as affected as other areas, will the minister nonetheless reassure me that the hospital has survived the funding reviews?”
