PM confirms £3.7bn for 40 hospitals in biggest hospital building programme in a generation
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October 7, 2020
The Prime Minister today confirmed for the first time that 40 hospitals will be built by 2030 as part of a package worth £3.7 billion, with 8 further new schemes invited to bid, delivering on the government’s manifesto commitment.
New standards will be developed over the coming months to help standardise the design of new hospitals and make use of modular construction methods to speed up the build.
The health infrastructure plan (HIP) is the biggest hospital building programme in a generation. It launched last September with a £2.8 billion investment that gave 6 new hospitals the funding to go ahead, alongside seed funding for trusts to work up business cases.
The trusts that received seed funding will now all be fully funded to deliver 25 new hospitals. A new hospital in Shotley Bridge is also being added to the programme.
The new Shotley Bridge hospital is a further signal of the government’s commitment to rebuilding across the north of England, as it drives forward with the levelling up agenda. Other new schemes will be invited to bid for funding for 8 more new hospitals – a proportion of these will be mental health hospitals.
The long-term investment in these new hospitals will ensure the NHS can continue to provide world-class care right across the country in the years to come.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “The dedication and tireless efforts of our nurses, doctors and all healthcare workers have kept the NHS open throughout this pandemic. But no matter what this virus throws at us, we are determined to build back better and deliver the biggest hospital building programme in a generation.
“From Morpeth to Milton Keynes, we are building 40 new hospitals across England to level up our NHS so more people have top-class healthcare services in their local area.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We protected the NHS through the peak of coronavirus. Today we recommit to protect the NHS for years to come with the 40 new hospitals we will build over the next decade.
“I love the NHS and I will do all I can to make sure it is there for you and your family over the years to come. The biggest hospital building programme in a generation will help protect the NHS long into the future.”
Alongside this, as announced last year, 20 hospitals will receive a share of £850 million to upgrade outdated facilities and equipment, with enabling works already beginning at several sites.
