Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust receives New Deal funding

The Trust will receive an extra £1,441,000, which means it will be able to increase its A&E capacity, put enhanced infection prevention and control measures in place and make improvements to emergency care and urgent treatment services.

Across England, the Government is providing £300 million to A&E departments, with work to be completed by the start of next year so hospitals can benefit from the upgrades during the peak of winter.

In June, the Prime Minister announced plans to accelerate £5billion of infrastructure spending as part of his 'New Deal' for Britain – an economic strategy to rebuild Britain by putting jobs, skills and infrastructure investment at the heart.

This funding forms part of the New Deal, which allocated a total of £1.5billion this year for hospital maintenance, hospital building and A&E expansion.

The funding also comes on top of the additional £3billion that the Prime Minister recently announced to help prepare the NHS for the winter months ahead. This funding will allow the NHS to continue to use the extra hospital capacity acquired from the independent sector through the coronavirus pandemic, and also to maintain the Nightingale hospitals until the end of March next year.

Leigh MP James Grundy said: “Staff at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh have worked tirelessly over recent months, and I would like to thank them for everything they have done to get our local community through the coronavirus pandemic.

“While we hope for the best this winter, its right that we plan for the worst. This funding to upgrade A&E across the Trust will ensure that we are in the best possible position for the challenges that the winter months may bring.

“As a Conservative, the NHS is my top priority and I was elected last December on a promise to deliver record NHS investment and level up the health service across the country. I am delighted to see the Conservatives in Government getting on with doing exactly that.”