It said the ‘credible timeline for delivery’ would ensure staff and patients had access to the facilities ‘they desperately need’ around the country as soon as possible. The news follows a review of the Programme 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 on 16 January, 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 Hospital Programme from a ‘red’ to an ‘amber’, thanks to action taken to improve deliverability. The Department of Health & Social Care said: “In May 2023, for example, the previous government announced that the programme was backed by over £20 billion of investment, but this funding was never delivered. This government is committed to rebuilding our NHS and to rebuilding trust in government. The new plan, which is affordable and honest, will be backed with £15 billion of new investment over consecutive five-year waves, averaging £3 billion a year.”
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, 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 40 in the next five. When I walked into the Department of Health and Social Care, I was told the funding for the New Hospital 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.”
The DHSC added that this government had ‘inherited buildings and equipment across the NHS that had been left to crumble, disrupting patient care, and hindering staff’, adding that – aa 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’.
Emphasising that building an NHS estate that is ‘fit for the future’ is key to the government’s Plan for Change, the Department said the Chancellor has announced that health capital spending in the NHS would increase ‘to record levels’ of £13.6 billion in 2025 to 2026.
The DHSC says that 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 reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), and have been prioritised as patient and staff safety is paramount;
- Wave 2 schemes 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 says it will ‘continue to work closely with industry to support construction, develop relationships, and secure investment within the supply chain’.
Morag Stuart, the NHP’s Chief Programme Officer (pictured), said: “This announcement by the Department of Health and Social Care provides certainty on the next steps for the New Hospital Programme. We will continue to work with local NHS organisations to deliver improvements to hospitals across England – including making best use of new technology and improving layouts, and ensuring that future hospitals are designed to meet the needs of patients and staff.”