Published at 11:12, Thursday, 17 May 2012

BUILDING work on the West Cumberland Hospital redevelopment is still on track to start on July 2.

The Department of Health was this week said to be preparing a report for the Treasury.

At its board meeting this week the North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust was told it was hoped there would be some news by the end of this week or the beginning of next.

Subject to these approvals, funding will be released and the building work can begin.

The £90m project will see the Whitehaven hospital rebuilt and refurbished on its current site. Planning permission has already been secured and the majority of demolition work has been carried out.

The 220-bed hospital has already been given the green light by NHS Cumbria and NHS North of England.

The takeover of the health trust which runs West Cumberland Hospital and the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, should be complete by the end of the year.

The North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust is in the process of being taken over by Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust as a result of its long-standing financial problems.

At this week’s trust board meeting in Whitehaven Alistair Mulvey, deputy chief executive, said the transaction should be complete by December.

The first part of the process – which is the signing of the heads of agreement – is due to be completed in the next couple of weeks.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk