Trusts reveal only five wholly new hospitals planned, as Labour says the scheme ‘exists only in PM’s imagination’
promised to deliver “40 new hospitals” in their 2019 manifesto, but it has since been revealed that many of these projects are just improvement to existing sites.
A guidance document, distributed to trusts and entitled New Hospital Programme Communications Playbooksaid a “new hospital” could be “a major new clinical building on an existing site or a new wing of an existing hospital, provided it contains a whole clinical service, such as maternity or children’s services; or a major refurbishment and alteration of all but building frame or main structure, delivering a significant extension to useful life which includes major or visible changes to the...
Labour’s Wes Streeting: ‘The only place these 40 new hospitals’ currently exist is in Boris Johnson’s imagination’Already, delays to building projects have resulted in additional costs to the taxpayer. Leeds General Infirmary estimates the cost of development for two new buildings will be £75m more than first planned due to delays to starting construction and the rising costs of building works.
“Labour will get value for taxpayers’ money and ensure that every penny going to the NHS is spent wisely, providing better care for patients.”