New hospital building programme announced
New hospital building programme to ensure the NHS’s hospital estate supports the provision of world-class healthcare services for patients.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has launched the largest hospital building programme in a generation as part of a new Health Infrastructure Plan due to be published on Monday 30 September.
The plan’s new, strategic approach will ensure the health service will have world-class facilities for patients and staff for the long term.
It sets out a long-term programme of investment in health infrastructure, including capital to:
- build new hospitals
- modernise our primary care estate
- invest in new diagnostics and technology
- help eradicate critical safety issues in the NHS estate
At the centre of this plan is a new hospital building programme, which the government has launched with a £2.8 billion investment that gives 6 new large hospitals the funding to go ahead now, aiming to deliver by 2025.
A further 21 schemes have been given the go-ahead with the seed funding they need to develop their business cases, with the aim of delivering between 2025 and 2030, subject to business case approvals.
In total this programme involves more than 40 hospital building projects as some schemes involve the development of more than one hospital site. All local areas will have the opportunity to bid to be part of future funding rounds.
The 6 trusts getting £2.7 billion in funding today to develop new hospitals are:
- Barts Health Trust
- Epsom and St Helier Trust
- West Hertfordshire Trust
- Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust
- University Hospitals of Leicester Trust
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust
The 21 schemes receiving £100 million of seed funding include:
- Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge
- Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham
- North Manchester General Hospital
Today’s investment is on top of the extra £33.9 billion a year by 2023 to 2024 that the government is providing to the NHS. It follows the government’s recent commitment of £1.8 billion in capital funding for 20 hospital upgrades and other critical infrastructure works for the NHS, as well as the announcement on Friday of £200 million to replace more than 300 diagnostic machines across the country to help drive earlier cancer diagnosis and improve survival.