Plans to expand a South London hospital have been approved by the local council, despite over 100 letters of objections being submitted by neighbours.
Bromley Council has approved the building of a new endoscopy unit at the Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington.
The decision, made at a development meeting for Bromley Council on January 10, came after 105 objections to the plans were submitted online by local residents.
Jonathan Lofthouse, chief executive of the Princess Royal University Hospital, said at the meeting: “Cancer is the single biggest killer of the resident population in Bromley.
"3817 of our residents died of cancer over a 12 month period… Hospitals across South East London, including my own, have failed to meet the national diagnostic treatment time standards for cancer every year since 2012.”
The new extension would create seven endoscopy theatres at the hospital.
Mr Lofthouse said that if the plans were not supported, there would be no further application from the hospital.
This would mean the £1.6million previously spent on the scheme, as well as the upcoming £20m of investment provided by central government, would be lost.
Conservative Councillor Simon Fawthrop said in response to Mr Lofthouse’s reasoning at the meeting: “What you just described to me seems to be NHS bad management.
"First of all, you can’t get your plans so they have got a fallback position.
"You’re underperforming for health targets, and you just seem to be sort of disorganised and uncoordinated.”
Conservative Councillor David Jefferys, chair of Bromley Health and Wellbeing Board, said that the health figures seen at the hospital were not a result of bad management, but rather outdated facilities.
He said: “I would pay tribute to the way the team at the PRUH [Princess Royal University Hospital], clinicians and managers, have been managing diagnostic facilities frankly, with areas which are not fit for purpose in the modern age.”
Conservative Councillor Charles Joel noted Cllr Jefferys said he knew little about planning in Bromley, and asked him to look at the problems faced by neighbours of the hospital rather than “just concentrating on favourable terms”.
Adam Webb, a resident living beside the hospital, said he and other neighbours had no objection to enhancing services in the borough, but that plans needed to be sized “appropriately”.
He said the application was “littered with poor quality reports that were full of inaccuracies, false statements and lacking in detail”.
The building of the new two-storey extension would cause a security wall dividing the hospital grounds and the properties of neighbouring residents to be knocked down.
Mr Webb said: “We’re also very concerned over the size and scale and massing of this building.
"That is why the security wall was put there. Bromley planning, back in 2001, recognised the damage the hospital could do to the amenities of Stats Close residents.”
Labour Councillor Tony McPartlan said he sympathised with the issues raised by the residents, but that he didn’t feel they were “insurmountable”.
He said: “This is an incredibly difficult decision to make. For me, the benefits of this far outweigh the drawbacks.”
The extension to Princess Royal University Hospital was approved by Bromley Council with eight votes in favour of the plans and seven against.
Conditions for the build include the very special circumstances of the scheme, that the building is only used for endoscopy purposes, and that the trust provides council officers with any information they feel they have still not yet received.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here