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The government has admitted that a fifth of the 40 new hospitals promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not meet the 2030 deadline, but insists the plan will go ahead as planned.
The Treasury has pledged £20bn in principle to fund construction projects, but the full amount will not be released until after the general election.
Health Secretary Steve Berkley said today that although he doubts it will be met, the promise to build 40 new hospitals by the end of 2010 remains in place.
However, eight of those originally included in the plan will not be completed by 2030, he said. These will be replaced by five projects and three mental health departments to restore crumbling hospitals at risk of catastrophic accidents.
Mr Berkeley told MPs that funding for the ‘new hospital programme’ had been increased from just £3.7bn to £20bn, but the new pledged funding would not be available until the next spending review scheduled after the general election. He said he would not be handed over by the Treasury Department. That means that its fate will be determined by who becomes the next government’s prime minister.
Eight hospitals in Berkshire, North Devon, East Sussex, Hampshire, Nottingham and Lancashire and two in London have confirmed delays.
Airedale in West Yorkshire, Queen Elizabeth Kingslyn in Norfolk, Hinchinbrook in Cambridgeshire, Midcheshire Layton in Cheshire and Frimley Park in Surrey are all considered at risk of collapse due to lightweight concrete problems. was added to this plan. used to build them.
The program has also been hit by inflation, with construction costs much higher than during the last election. Labour’s Wes Streeting has asked the Health Secretary to “come clean” about the possibility that promises will not be met, saying: “I have no idea, I just don’t understand how we can provide 40 new hospitals by 2030.” said.
One official involved in the plan said that from the beginning the plan was “greatly underfunded” and inflation made construction more difficult, so building all the hospitals within the promised deadline was “not possible.” I can’t believe it at all,” he said.
“As we approach the 75th anniversary of the great NHS, this additional investment will ensure we can care for patients for decades to come, reducing waiting lists and getting the care they need sooner,” said Barclay. ‘ said.
Analysis: A Controversial Promise
The promise to build 40 new hospitals has been controversial since Boris Johnson made it during the 2019 election campaign.
It soon became clear that not all “new hospitals” were actually completely new, not really whole hospitals, but many were renovations or new wings of existing hospitals. .
And experts have cast doubt on both the project’s timeline and funding, questioning the likelihood of completing the project by the 2030 deadline.
The government said two of the 40 hospitals had been completed and another five had started. Five hospitals in urgent need of repair and three mental health departments were added to the plan.
Nine more hospitals are ready to start construction soon, but most of the hospitals originally promised won’t start construction until after the next general election.
Health Secretary Steve Berkley hopes to speed up the construction process and reduce costs by using a “modular” structure that combines standardized components rather than designing each one from scratch. I’m here.
