Edgware: It has been a long time coming. But on Tuesday it was apt that Health Secretary Alan Milburn laid the foundation stone for the new £37.5million Edgware Community Hospital.

Mr Milburn has been involved in the saga at Edgware Hospital ever since Labour was swept to power promising to review the Tories' controversial decision to close the old general hospital.

When that promise went by swiftly unfulfilled, lengthy consultation with residents, hospital bosses, Barnet Community Health Council (CHC) and the New Edgware Hospital Campaign eventually led to the idea of a community hospital being born.

"It's been a long, hard road and it has taken a long time to get here," said Mr Milburn. "However, it is very pleasing that the new hospital that people in the community have been arguing for is going to happen.

"In the end, it's taken time but it was very important to involve the community in the decision and that wasn't an easy process for anybody."

The hospital, which was originally expected to be completed with a £25million budget, has been earmarked to open in the summer of 2004. Services will include intermediate care beds, day surgery, outpatients' clinics and an elderly assessment unit.

Hendon MP Andrew Dismore went as far as to say the hospital was Mr Milburn's "baby".

In his speech to those gathered in the sun at the hospital on Tuesday afternoon Mr Dismore said: "I remember in 1997 when I was the only MP that did not seem to have a honeymoon period.

"I was trying to pick up the pieces of what had been left of Edgware General Hospital and I remember having discussions with Alan about how we could take the project forward."

"Now he is here to see the fruition of the challenge he made to us right back in 1997 to come up with an innovative scheme which was going to be a flagship for the NHS I feel he has been able to achieve that."

Mr Milburn said he felt Edgware would become a "leading edge community hospital".

But despite Mr Milburn's claims that "what people do need is a range of accessible services on their doorstep", the hospital's urgent treatment centre's (UTC) night service is still in doubt.

Its closure between 10pm and 7am, put forward by Barnet Primary Care Trust (PCT) which runs the hospital, would leave patients in-and-around Edgware with minor injuries or illnesses having to travel to Barnet Hospital.

A review group made up of representatives from Barnet CHC, the New Edgware Hospital Campaign, Barnet PCT and North Central London Health Authority meets for the first time tomorrow to discuss the plans.

"There is a process underway," said Mr Milburn who would not reveal his stance on the closure. "In the end these are decisions that have got to be taken by the local community and the local health service."

While admitting that there was still a lot of work to be done, Stan Davison, chairman of the New Edgware Hospital Campaign, was upbeat. "We are probably on the home stretch towards the completion of the hospital we wanted when we started."

July 11, 2002 11:00