Plans for a £71 million development scheme for Broomfield Hospital have taken another step forward with endorsement for the proposals from Mid Essex Hospitals Trust.
At a meeting last Thursday the trust's board gave its approval to the scheme to centralise all acute hospital services for mid-Essex on the Broomfield site.
The plans include a new treatment and diagnostic centre, a maternity and paediatric unit, a breast unit, a pathology unit and a major refurbishment of the accident and emergency department.
Support for the proposals has now been given by the Eastern Region of the NHS Executive, North Essex Health Authority and Mid Essex Hospitals Trust board.
The plans have also been welcomed by Simon Burns, MP for West Chelmsford, who said: " I understand that many people become unsettled by change, but I wholeheartedly support the proposals by Mid Essex Hospitals Trust to move services from St John's Hospital to the Broomfield site.
"I have always believed that Broomfield should be a centre of excellence in the region and hopefully that it could, in due course, become a great teaching hospital.
"The concentration of healthcare facilities at Broomfield Hospital will be a giant step forward in enhancing the service that the hospital provides for the local community."
Andrew Pike, chief executive of Mid Essex Hospitals Trust, said: "Patients and staff will benefit from having a full range of hospital services together on one site and these proposals have the full backing of the trust's consultants.
"This latest development brings us closer than ever before to making the plan a reality. These are early days, however, and we have a lot to do to develop the plans in detail. We need to share our current thinking with local people and gain a wide range of views."
The trust is to hold a series of open meetings, starting in December, so that local people can be involved in formulating the proposals.
By Anne Fitzgerald
Reporter's e-mail: anne.fitzgerald@essex-chronicle.co.uk
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