Sir Oliver Heald, MP for North East Hertfordshire, heard today from Jeremy Hunt’s office (Secretary of State for Health) that NHS England can now confirm that the long-awaited approval for the funding of the Options Appraisal is in place through the Government’s Primary Care Infrastructure Fund. The decision to give approval had twice been delayed and Sir Oliver asked Jeremy Hunt personally to intervene to break the logjam. This means that the NHS has now agreed the funding for the Options to be worked up to a full Business case level and is a major step forward for Royston’s future healthcare and the proposed NHS/Social care Hub.

Commenting, Sir Oliver aid “I am delighted at this step forward and would like to thank Jeremy Hunt for his personal interest, as well as congratulating the local team led by Dr John Hedges.”

The Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt MP said “I am delighted to hear that the Options Appraisal for the Royston NHS and Social Care Hub has been given the green light by NHS England.  These projects have great potential to deliver improved outcomes for local residents. I was also keen to learn more from Oliver about this particular scheme, which has such strong support locally”.