Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, has welcomed £10m funding for a Day Case Unit at Hinckley Hospital and called for the Liberal Democrat group at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council to support local healthcare improvements, and “not jeopardise this huge investment.”
Comments by the GP-turned-MP come after the Leader of the Borough Council, Liberal Democrat Councillor Stuart Bray, asked the NHS to ‘reconsider Mount Road hospital plans.’
Dr Evans is urging the Council Leader not to delay the application and risk the Labour Government withdrawing this hard-won funding. The old Cottage Hospital on Mount Road is currently lying derelict and not fit for purpose.
Speciality services that are expected to be delivered at the new Day Case Unit include Breast Care, General Surgery, Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Pain Management, Plastic Surgery, Podiatric Surgery, Renal Access Surgery, Urology and Vascular Surgery.
This follows a £24.6m investment for a Community Diagnostic Centre, also on Mount Road. The testing unit, which will bring capacity for thousands of MRI and CT scans, X-Rays, ultrasounds and blood tests to Hinckley, is due to open in June.
The two projects bring the total investment into Hinckley’s healthcare infrastructure to over £35 million since 2019.
Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, said "Our whole community is so excited to see the new Diagnostic Centre being built, and this next stage of investment will make a huge difference.
"One of the issues people raise with me most frequently is healthcare, access to services and how we can improve local provision, which is why I have been working with the NHS to secure investment of more than £35 million for healthcare in Hinckley.
“The old Cottage Hospital invigorated local healthcare when it opened in 1900 and has been part of our community ever since. Sadly, as I saw at the end of last year when the NHS showed me around, it’s no longer fit for purpose. Rooms are partly demolished, you can see the wiring in the walls, and the reliance on an old system of using oxygen cannisters in operating theatres is no longer safe for patients or clinicians.
“The plans double the site's capacity from 1,000 patients per year to 2,000 and promise to speed up waiting times, building on the legacy of the Cottage Hospital from when it opened 125 years ago. Now it is over to the NHS and Borough Council to come together. The Lib Dem Leader and his Party must not squander the opportunity that this funding brings.”
The NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (ICB) says “We have explored options to integrate the existing building into the scheme, but we have concluded that it is not viable. The layout of the existing hospital was not suitable for the services that previously existed within it, and it would not be suitable for Day Case Surgery services.
“We've therefore concluded that the best option is to replace it with a new building that can be developed to modern standards to treat double the number of Day Case Surgery patients than were treated in the existing hospital in an efficient, accessible, patient friendly and energy efficient environment that will meet modern healthcare requirements, including current standards for air flow, ventilation and infection control."
The planning application was submitted in May 2025. If permission is granted, the NHS foresees that work will start on site this year (2025), and anticipates completion of the Day Case Unit will be next year (2026).