THE boss of Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust (PAHT) has confirmed that they may abandon plans to move to a new hospital and may concentrate on improving existing sites.

Until this week, Plan A was a multi-billion pound new hospital by Junction 7a of the M11.

But as YH readers know, the date for a new hospital has been put back and back and back.

The most recent announcement (January) referred to a start date in 2034.

However, when you have political masters and there could be two General Elections between now and then, the PAHT bosses led by Thom Lafferty, appear to have run out of patience.

Instead, “all avenues” will be considered to “unstick” the building programme including the construction at the existing Harlow site on Hamstel Road.

Thom Lafferty, said: “We are seriously considering the revision of our new hospital programme strategy.

“To the frustration of members of the public and to the great frustration of our own staff, progress on securing a site for the new hospital for Harlow is extremely slow.

“We met as a trust board last week and agreed that in 2026, we must consider all potential avenues to be able to unstick the plan, which we think is fundamentally stuck. We owe it to our staff. We owe it to our local people.”

The new plan appears to centre on improving facilities at the present hospital on Hamstel Road. In many ways, this would fit in with the regeneration of the town centre and improvements to roads.

There is also the plan to move Phlebotomy (Bloods) to The Harvey Centre.

Mr Lafferty added that “Plan A” remained building off the M11, but construction at Hamstel Road offered some advantages.

“Subject to approval of a new business case, this “Plan B” could be delivered more quickly on the site that the trust already owns and controls. The costs would also be staggered, with building in phases, and the project could be part of a wider Harlow regeneration”.

There are also plans to improve Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford,  St Margaret’s in Epping and facilities in Ongar.

They have cited examples of Watford and in Cornwall, where hospital trusts have built on existing sites.

YH got the distinct impression that Mr Lafferty is a dynamic can-do type of leader and so when he used terms such as “we won’t tolerate delay” he wants to deliver what is best for the people of Harlow and beyond.

He said: “We are clear as a trust board that we can’t continue to tolerate this ongoing delay, particularly given some of the infrastructure issues that we face every single week that cause us operational disruption.

“We are actively considering all potential options, including building on our own site to see if we can accelerate as part of the national New Hospital Programme.”

YH will be gauging response from politicians regarding this news.