Record £19m investment in west Cumbria health facilities
Green light for Express LIFT schemes in Cockermouth and Cleator Moor
Final permission has been granted for a new community hospital in Cockermouth and a health centre in Cleator Moor.
The developments, announced by NHS North of England strategic health authority, are to be funded and delivered through the NHS Express LIFT programme, which sees an established team of contractors working together to deliver an end-to-end programme of works.
Following the decision, it now remains for final contract details to be completed before work on the new £12.5m Cockermouth Hospital can start in the early summer, with completion expected in autumn 2013.
Work on the new £6.5m health centre in Cleator Moor should also start in early summer and be completed by the end of spring 2013.
The new hospital in Cockermouth will be built on land next to the current Cottage Hospital on Isel Road. It will replace the existing hospital, which is more than 100 years old and will provide new facilities for the town's GPs, who are currently working out of temporary accommodation on the hospital site following the floods that devastated Cockermouth in November 2009.
The new Health Centre on Birks Road in Cleator Moor will incorporate a range of health services in a new facility designed to ensure future healthcare needs are met.
Dr David Rogers, lead commissioning GP for Copeland, said: "The combined investment marks a big step forward for healthcare in west Cumbria and will enable us to plan and provide the best services for our patients."
Dr Mike Bewick, NHS Cumbria's medical director, added: "Combined with the new West Cumberland Hospital, these schemes make up the largest ever single investment in west Cumbria's health facilities."