The government has confirmed funding and a realistic timetable to put the New Hospital Programme on track to deliver all of its hospital projects. The new timeline for delivery will ensure that staff and patients have access to the facilities they desperately need around the country as soon as possible.
It follows a review of the scheme which found that the previous government’s commitment to deliver ‘40 new hospitals’ by 2030 was behind schedule, unfunded and therefore undeliverable.
In its annual report, published recently, the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) also deemed the previous scheme ‘unachievable’, rating the programme as red and highlighting major issues including with the schedule and budget. An independent IPA review upgraded the New Hospitals Programme from a red to an amber rating last week, thanks to action taken to improve deliverability.
This government is committed to rebuilding our NHS and to rebuilding trust in government. The new plan, which it says is affordable and honest, will be backed with £15 billion of new investment over consecutive five-year waves, averaging £3 billion a year.
Wes Streeting, Health and Social Care Secretary, said: “The New Hospital Programme we inherited was unfunded and undeliverable. Not a single new hospital was built in the past five years, and there was no credible funding plan to build forty in the next five years. When I walked into the Department of Health and Social Care, I was told that the funding for the New Hospitals Programme runs out in March. We were determined to put the programme on a firm footing, so we can build the new hospitals our NHS needs. Today we are setting out an honest, funded, and deliverable programme to rebuild our NHS.”
As Lord Darzi found in his investigation, the NHS was starved of capital in the last decade, with £37 billion under-investment over the 2010s, leaving some hospitals with roofs that have fallen in, and leaking pipes which freeze over in winter. Building an NHS estate that is fit for the future is key to the government’s Plan for Change that will get the health service back on its feet and see waiting times slashed. At the Budget, the Chancellor announced that health capital spending in the NHS is set to increase to record levels of £13.6 billion in 2025-26.
For schemes that were out of scope of the review, those already with approved Full Business Cases will continue as planned and are already in construction (Wave 0).
The remaining schemes will be allocated to one of three wave groups:
- Schemes in Wave 1 are expected to begin construction between 2025 and 2030. These schemes include hospitals constructed primarily using RAAC and have been prioritised as patient and staff safety is paramount.
- Schemes in Waves 2 are expected to begin construction between 2030 and 2035.
- Schemes in Wave 3 are expected to begin construction between 2035 and 2039.
Hospitals in later waves will be supported on their development and early construction work before then, to ensure that they are ready for main construction.
The plan for implementation sets out a clear pipeline of schemes to be delivered over the next decade and beyond. The New Hospital Programme will continue to work closely with industry to support construction, develop relationships and secure investment within the supply chain.
The New Hospital Programme is just one part of the government’s wider commitment to transforming the NHS estate. Over £1 billion has been set aside to make inroads into the existing backlog of critical maintenance, repairs and upgrades, while £102 million has been dedicated for upgrades to GP surgeries across England as a first step towards transforming the primary care estate.