In recent years, Medway’s growing population has placed additional pressure on healthcare services in our area and has created a need for better access to health facilities. Medway Maritime Hospital first opened over one hundred years ago but faces increasing pressure due as our towns grow in size.
I have been advocating for a New Hospital for some time and I have identified a local Government-owned site that with the necessary infrastructure improvements could be delivered. I am proposing that the Chattenden Barracks site on the Hoo Peninsula to become and elective surgery hospital (non-emergency) to help reduce the pressure on Medway Maritime Hospital that currently serves more than four hundred thousand people across Medway and Swale.
Currently, this site has been earmarked for 500 houses, however, this site could be more effectively used as a new hospital for the community increasing the healthcare capacity that we desperately need across Medway. Rather than allowing more houses to be built putting even more strain on our healthcare system.
In addition to this, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) also oppose the development of this site into housing due to the impact that this would have on the Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the protected Nightingale population. I am a proud RSPB Nightingale Champion and have discussed my proposal for a new hospital at this site and the RSPB have confirmed that this would not pose the same risks as a residential development.
Medway Council are currently creating a new local development blueprint (Local Plan) for the Medway Towns and Hoo Peninsula. A formal consultation will begin imminently, and we must tell council officials what services and facilities are needed and where they should be located.
This is why I am campaigning for a second hospital site to be built in an area where houses are already being built and more houses are being proposed. These services are desperately needed to support the growing population of our area, particularly the Hoo Peninsula.
Please support my campaign for a New Hospital by signing my petition.