National Audit Office research has found that of the 40 new hospitals promised in the New Hospitals Programme, only 11 are actual new builds
A key campaign promise of building 40 new hospitals, as mentioned in the Conservative manifesto and emphasised several times since, appears unlikely to reach the 2030 target, according to a review from the National Audit Office(NAO).
The scheme has already cost £1.1bn by March of this year, and the NAO described progress as “slower than expected” and poor value for money.
Only 11 projects actually qualify as “whole new hospitals”
The NAO found that of the 32 projects being taken forward in the NHP’s 2020 update, only 11 are entirely new builds.
Rebuilds of existing hospitals, additional buildings or significant redevelopments of existing buildings accounted for 20 of the 32 projects. One scheme failed to meet any of those criteria, according to the NAO.
Describing the Department of Health and Social Care’s approach as “maximum risk”, the watchdog also warned that if larger hospital projects were to start construction simultaneously, as current plans suggest, the increased demand on builders and supply will further push up costs.
The modular Hospital 2.0 design was intended to reduce costs
The New Hospital Programme previously attempted to reconcile costs and designs through creating a standardised hospital design, known as Hospital 2.0, but a shortage of technical staff has delayed project completion until May 2024.
All major schemes seeking budget approval have stalled as a result.
Designed to act as a “minimum viable product”, Hospital 2.0 has faced criticism for being designed according to outdated standards, such as depedence on wards rather than single rooms.
The design also works on the basis of hospitals working at a consistently high capacity, which exacerbates existing strains and reduces the hospital’s ability to respond to health care crisis, such as pandemics.
The hospitals could then be forced to run at high occupancy levels, as much as 95%, which were said by the NAO to be “highly undesirable and indicative of crisis”.
NHP has not “meaningfully” engaged with industry, warns NAO
The report was condemning, stating that by “the definition the government used in
2020, it will not now deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030.”
Recommendations from the NAO report include:
- Completing the planning process for cohort 2 before the end of 2024 to prevent a backlog
- Revisit the minimum viable product (MVP) to better meet the needs of modern healthcare and sustainable construction
- Reflect on lessons learned in the construction of The Grange University Hospital in Wales, which used modern methods of construction and opened ahead of schedule
The opposition was sharp in response, as Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said: “The Conservatives have overpromised, under-delivered, and they’ve been found out. Meanwhile, patients are being treated in outdated, crumbling hospitals. Labour will make our NHS fit for the future.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “The NAO’s report acknowledges that, despite changes to the original programme, 40 new hospitals are still expected to be delivered by 2030 and praises the programme’s innovative plans to standardise hospital construction, deliver efficiencies and improve quality.”
You can read the full report on the NHP by the NAO here.
