Rugby MP visits new facilities at St Cross and vows to fight for more as town grows

Last week Rugby MP Mark Pawsey visited the Hospital of St Cross to meet with the chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Professor Andrew Hardy, and see some of the recent expansions of the services provided at the hospital.

During his visit, Mr Pawsey was shown the new haematology service at Maple Ward, which opened its doors in September 2021.

The previously empty ward is now being used for patients receiving chemotherapy, meaning that Rugbeians can be treated closer to home.

It was funded through a £200,000 donation from the Friends of St Cross and £845,000 from the Coventry Hospitals Charity and provides an entirely new service with state-of-the-art medical equipment.

St Cross has also been enhanced with new theatres and a mobile Endoscopy Unit, which have enabled more services and treatments to be offered at the hospital.

Mr Pawsey then spoke with Professor Hardy about the opportunity to continue to expand the services at the Hospital of St Cross as the town’s rapid growth goes on.

Mr Pawsey later said: “It was very good to meet with Professor Hardy and his team at the Hospital of St Cross and to see for myself the investment and improvements which University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust are making in Rugby’s local health services.

“The new facilities at St Cross means that people can be seen more locally and demonstrates the ongoing commitment which UHCW NHS Trust has to Rugby’s local hospital. I know from speaking to residents that local health services are something which are valued very highly and many people take pride in our local Hospital of St Cross.

“I will continue to argue for greater investment at our local hospital.

I was pleased that Professor Hardy recognises the importance of St Cross to local residents and I hope to see further investment, and new services, as Rugby grows in the coming years.”