Condition of hospital 'most pressing problem' in Keighley constituency

A Government decision on a bid to rebuild the hospital has still not been made, despite the proposal being submitted in September 2021.

Keighley MP Robbie Moore has said he will be “stepping up” efforts to push government for the funding.

But he has also been criticised for failing to take Rishi Sunak to see the state of the hospital on the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Keighley.

The hospital, located in Steeton, was built in the early 1970s – with much of the building constructed with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) – a material that is weaker than normal concrete and initially had a life span of 30 years.

A recent report into the hospital found that some areas of the roof required “urgent” structural support.

In 2021, it was announced that the Act as One health and care partnership that covers Bradford District and Craven had bid to Government for funding that would see a rebuild of Airedale Hospital on its current site to create Europe’s first carbon neutral hospital.

It was accompanied by bids to rebuild Lynfield Mount to develop a new acute inpatient facility and replace Bradford Royal Infirmary and St. Luke’s Hospital with a purpose-built hospital on a single site.

An announcement on the funding was expected from Government in Spring last year – although no decision has yet been made.

At a meeting of Bradford Council on Tuesday, Keighley Councillor Caroline Firth (Lab) criticised Mr Moore for failing to take Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to the hospital on his recent visit to Keighley.

The PM visited Keighley on Monday January 9 – and along with Mr Moore was taken on a tour of the head office of Teconnex – a manufacturing company.

At Tuesday’s Council meeting Cllr Firth asked what the latest on the push for a hospital rebuild was.

She was told the Council and the Act as One Partnership was lobbying to “obtain the necessary funding to address the reinforced autoclaves aerated concrete issue.”

Cllr Firth followed up by saying: “Will you agree with me that Airedale Hospital is the most pressing problem in the constituency, and do you share my disappointment that our local MP failed to take Rishi Sunak there when the Prime Minister visited the constituency?”

Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe agreed that the state of the hospital was the most pressing issue, adding: “I’ve been up on the roof to look at the state of it. It needs replacing – it is the worst example in the country, and after all these years it has still not been replaced.

“I don’t know what the Government are thinking – we desperately need in-vestment to go into Airedale Hospital. Leadership there do an amazing job keeping things going.

“To deliver this hospital I think we’ll need to wait for a Labour government.”

When asked about this criticism, Mr Moore said he had recently meetings with the Health Secretary; Steve Barclay, Minister for the government’s new hospital programme; Lord Markham, and the Chief Executive of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, Foluke Ajayi, with the local MP urging the government to provide the "necessary funds for a full rebuild".

Robbie Moore with Health Secretary Steve Barclay (Image: Robbie Moore)

He said a rebuild of Airedale is needed “now more than ever” and vowing to “continue the fight” for the local hospital.

He said he has asked two Prime Minister’s Questions on the issue, and meet personally with the Prime Minister and Chancellor to push the case.

He also presented the Prime Minister with a piece of aerated concrete taken directly from Airedale Hospital to underline the material's structural deficiencies.

Mr Moore said: “Now more than ever, do we need a new Airedale Hospital, and over recent weeks I have been stepping up my campaign even further, holding three high level one-on-one meetings with top healthcare leaders to discuss the urgent need for a new Airedale Hospital. This included meetings with our Secretary of State for Health, Steven Barclay, the Minister for the new hospital programme, Lord Markham and Foluke Ajayi, chief executive of Airedale NHS foundation Trust.

“I made it clear to the government that sticking plaster solutions are unacceptable, and that Keighley deserves the necessary government funding and support for this vital facility and its dedicated staff.”