The industry received ominous news in January after the Scottish government announced that it was to halt NHS construction projects in the country for two years. The Scottish National Party (SNP)-led Scottish Government has put all significant NHS building projects in Scotland on hold until 2026 at the earliest. The moratorium means six out of 11 planned national treatment centres (NTCs) are at risk. The fact that some projects will continue remains broadly positive of course, but the sector is concerned. Many sources have remained tight lipped as they await further announcements, but construction projects of this nature need clarity and delays such as this make investors uneasy. Time will tell at this stage how progress plays out. But according to reports, NHS Lothian finance director Craig Marriott has said that ministers north of the border had told local health chiefs they would be waiting “at least” two years for new capital investment.

APPROVAL AND FUNDING

He claimed that new construction projects would be dependent on approval and funding from the Scottish Government. “Following the Budget announcement in December, the Scottish Government advised NHS boards to immediately stop any project development spend, as the Scottish Government does not anticipate starting construction of any new capital projects over the next two years at least,” he warned. This is far from encouraging news for the sector. During a debate on the NHS on 17 January, Labour’s health spokesperson Jackie Baillie told MSPs that NTCs are already delayed in Grampian, Tayside, and Lanarkshire, and “NHS Ayrshire and Arran don’t even have the full business case required to get the process started”. She said: “These centres will not be delivered on time and some will not be delivered at all.” Baillie added: “Delays to vital projects and a failure to deal with RAACs, and putting the long-proposed national treatment centres on the back-burner will cause [NHS] waiting lists to rise and will only serve to fan the flames of the NHS crisis.”

A Scottish government spokesperson described the cuts as ”extremely challenging”, and said ministers would reveal a revised infrastructure investment plan in the spring when the financial situation became clearer. They added: “Our emphasis for the immediate future will therefore be on addressing backlog maintenance and essential equipment replacement.”

DELAYS

One project hit by the delay is the state of- the-art University Hospital Monklands, which has been put on hold for the foreseeable future. Although plans to deliver the project are carrying on apace. Colin Lauder, director of planning, property and performance, said: “NHS Lanarkshire remains fully committed to the new Monklands Replacement Project with Outline Business Case approval given last year and Laing O’Rourke appointed as our preferred construction partner.

“We are continuing to work on developing a Full Business Case (FBC). Part of this process is having ongoing discussions with the Scottish Government regarding the budget for the project which will be finalised as part of the FBC process. We are aiming to have the FBC complete during 2025.” A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde told HDM that it “is considering the implications of recent budget announcements from the Scottish Government”. “We will continue to develop our financial plans for the year ahead and will present them to Board Members for approval in due course,” the spokesperson added. “We can confirm that building projects that are currently under way will continue.” The Scottish government has said: “The UK Government did not inflation-proof its capital budget which has resulted in nearly a 10% real-terms cut in the Scottish Government’s capital funding over the medium-term between 2023-24 and 2027-28. “The result of this cut is that new health capital projects have currently been paused. Our emphasis for the immediate future will be on addressing backlog maintenance and essential equipment replacement. “We are investing £314 million in 2024/25 in health infrastructure allowing all major projects in construction to be completed – this includes the Baird and Anchor Hospitals in Aberdeen, Parkhead Health Centre and the Golden Jubilee Expansion Phase 2. “In 2023 we opened two National Treatment Centres in NHS Fife and NHS Highland, with two further centres opening in 2024 in NHS Forth Valley and the Golden Jubilee Hospital.” Time will tell on how this pans out.