Plans for £450million hospitals overhaul and Melton birth centre closure put on hold

The government agreed in principle in October to fund the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) project including the building of a new maternity hospital in the city and consolidating the county’s birthing services in Leicester.

The trust proposes to close the Melton birth centre, which it says is well down on the 500 births a year it requires to be cost-effective and that it is too far away for many mums in the county to use.

It was due to publish more detailed plans of the scheme and launch a public consultation next month but announced today (Thursday) that it has postponed that until the summer or when the Covid-19 pandemic is over.

A statement from East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group (ELRCCG) reads: “Since government support for funding was secured we have been working hard to finalise the details of our ambitious proposals and, with our partners, have been progressing through regional and national assurance processes.

“We had hoped that, subject to completion of these, we would be in a position to publish the full details of what is planned - the pre-consultation business case or PCBC - and launch a formal public consultation during April.

“Those assurance processes are still ongoing.

“Meanwhile the current coronavirus outbreak means that the priority for the NHS must, rightly, be on doing everything we can to support patients and care for those most in need during what will be a particularly challenging time.

“These two things mean that the consultation will now start later than originally expected.”

Dates for when full details are announced and a consultation launched have not been set at this stage.

The ELRCCG statement adds: “The fluidity of the national situation means that we cannot, at this stage, provide details of exact timescales.

“However, we hope that consultation may be able to commence during the early part of the summer – though this will have to be kept under review.

“We also remain committed to publishing our detailed plans in advance of consultation and will provide an update on timescales for this in due course. “We will also continue conversations with our local Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee on progress over the coming months.”