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', which is published today.
The plan states that the Government is taking a strategic approach to ensure world-class health facilities for patients and staff.
It sets out a long-term programme of investment in health infrastructure - for new hospitals; to modernise the primary care estate; for new diagnostics and technology; and to help eradicate critical safety issues in the NHS estate.
The Hospital building programme
Six new hospitals
£2.8billion investment will fund six new large hospitals, to be delivered by 2025.
The six trusts getting the money to develop new hospitals are:
· Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
· West Hertfordshire Trust Hospitals NHS Trust
· Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
· University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
· Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Seed funding
A further 21 schemes have also been given the go-ahead, with the £100m seed funding they need to develop their business cases and with the aim of delivering between 2025-2030, subject to business case approvals.
They include Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge; Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham; and North Manchester General Hospital.
In total this programme involves more than 40 hospital building projects as some schemes involve the development of more than one hospital site. And all local areas will have the opportunity to bid to be part of future funding rounds.
Today’s investment is on top of the extra £33.9billion a year by 2023/2024 that the Government is providing to the NHS.
And it follows the Government’s recent commitment of £1.8billion in capital funding for 20 hospital upgrades and other critical infrastructure works for the NHS, as well as the announcement on Friday of £200m to replace more than 300 diagnostic machines across the country to help drive earlier cancer diagnosis and improve survival.
