Leeds Primary Care Trust had hoped to build a central 300-bed site forpaediatric services in the city by 2012. Specialist services arecurrently spread across several hospitals, with the nearest dedicatedchildren's hospital based in Sheffield.
Initial plans for the hospital were approved in 2004, but the primarycare trust failed to make a convincing business case after a servicereorganisation was delayed. It was hoped the restructuring would releasesavings for the children's hospital. The trust is also 7.7m indebt.
A primary care trust spokesman said: "Financial pressures across thehealth community in Leeds have conspired against making a convincingcase."
In a joint statement, Chris Outram, Leeds Primary Care Trust's chiefexecutive, and Hugo Mascie-Taylor, the interim chief executive of LeedsTeaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "While it's clearly disappointingnot to be pressing ahead with the plans for a new facility at this time,it is important to realise that this is not the final word on plans fora children's and maternity hospital."
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