Epping Forest MP Dame Eleanor Laing has been praised by "incredibly hard work" in campaigning for a new hospital to be built.

Health Minister Edward Argar was speaking in reply to Harlow MP Robert Halfon who has long campaigned for a new hospital and health campus in Harlow.

This follows Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust is to receive hundreds of millions of pounds for a new hospital.

Dame Eleanor has supported Mr Halfon in his long-running campaign to get a modernised, health facility after mentioning the subject over 40 times in the House of Commons.

The Harlow MP also secured visits from two Health Secretaries, Matt Hancock and Jeremy Hunt, and former Health Ministers Stephen Hammond and Philip Dunne.

The Epping Forest MP said: "This is brilliant news not just for Harlow itself but the wider area, including the Epping Forest district, that forms a large part of the Princess Alexandra Hospital catchment area.

"Princess Alexandra Hospital now serves a much wider area and a greater population then was originally planned when it was built so many years ago and we have to respond to the changing needs of our local community.

"Everyone will benefit from a new health campus where different services are all brought together in one place."

Mr Halfon, speaking in the House of Commons, said: "I, alongside my wonderful Right Hon. Friend, the Member for Epping Forest (Dame Eleanor Laing MP) and my Hon.

“Friend, the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mark Prisk MP), have been campaigning hard for a new hospital in Harlow, and we are delighted by the Minister’s announcement that we will now be getting it."

Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone and Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust has been named among six hospital trusts to benefit from £2.7bn of Government funding.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in Harlow will recieve funding from the Government

Mr Halfon also paid tribute to the "incredible domestic and support staff, the nurses, doctors and consultants, and the management team, led by the chief executive Lance McCarthy, because for years they have done an incredible job, against the odds, in a building that was not fit for purpose".

Mr Argar said: "I am grateful to my Right Hon. Friend, who is right to highlight the work for his local hospital by our Hon. Friend, the Member for Hertford and Stortford, and by the Right Hon. Member for Epping Forest who, given the nature of her office (as a Deputy Speaker), may not speak but works incredibly hard for her constituents on this."

Mr Halfon, who recently thanked Dame Eleanor for "significantly" helping his campaign, described the announcement as "a momentous day for Harlow".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Princess Alexandra Hospital on Friday when he announced a massive injection of cash for cancer diagnostic equipment across the country, but said people would have to be patient over any announcement over funding for a new hospital.

Speaking about the news, Mr Halfon said: “I am absolutely thrilled this day has come. This new hospital will transform healthcare for everyone in Harlow and all across west Essex.

“I’m so delighted that the hard work of our incredible NHS staff, right through from the porters, cleaners, ancillary staff, nurses and doctors, to the executive team, led by the brilliant Lance McCarthy, has finally paid off and we can start building a brand new, state-of-the-art hospital health campus in our town.

“I have worked hard with so many wonderful, passionate people on this campaign and I can’t thank everyone enough for all that they have done.

“This Government is championing our NHS and investing where it matters most.”

"For the rest of my life, I know that I will have played a major part in getting a new hospital for our town. I could not be happier."