Breaking news: New Hospital Programme will take a decade to deliver
- Plan for all hospital projects in the revamped New Hospital Programme to be delivered
- New plan sets out realistic and properly-costed construction timeline
- Previous scheme was behind schedule, unfunded, and undeliverable

Work on Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust’s ‘Tomorrow’s NUH’ scheme will now be delayed until at least 2037
The Government has confirmed funding and a ‘realistic’ timetable to put the New Hospital Programme (NHP) on track to deliver all of the proposed projects.
However, it has admitted that delivery of all planned schemes could take a decade – far longer than the previous government’s 2030 target.
And this has led to criticism from trust leaders who fear further degradation of buildings and a negative impact on staff and patients.
This ‘credible’ timeline for delivery will ensure staff and patients around the country have access to the facilities they desperately need as soon as possible, the Government said.
And it follows a review of the scheme, which found that the previous government’s commitment to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030 was ‘behind schedule’, ‘unfunded’ and, therefore, ‘undeliverable’.
In its annual report, published last week, the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) also deemed the previous scheme ‘unachievable’, rating the programme as ‘red’ and highlighting major issues including with the schedule and budget.
It is clear that the knackered condition of some NHS buildings and equipment in both hospital and out-of-hospital settings is harming patients and staff and hampering attempts to improve NHS productivity
But an independent IPA review has upgraded the programme from a ‘red’ to an ‘amber’ rating, thanks to action taken to improve deliverability.
In May 2023, for example, the previous government announced that the programme was backed by over £20bn of investment. However, this funding was never delivered.
Labour’s new plan will be backed with £15bn of new investment over consecutive five-year waves, averaging £3bn a year.
Wes Streeting, Health and Social Care Secretary, said: “The New Hospital Programme we inherited was unfunded and undeliverable.
“Not a single new hospital was built in the past five years and there was no credible funding plan to build 40 in the next five years.
“When I walked into the Department of Health and Social Care, I was told that the funding for the New Hospital Programme runs out in March.
“We were determined to put the programme on a firm footing, so we can build the new hospitals our NHS needs.
“Today we are setting out an honest, funded, and deliverable programme to rebuild our NHS.”
Underinvestment
In his review of the NHS Lord Darzi found the health service was starved of capital in the last decade, with £37bn worth of under investment during the 2010s leaving some hospitals with roofs that have fallen in and leaking pipes which freeze over in winter.
Pausing or delaying plans to rebuild hospitals is also very likely to be a false economy – many hospitals are already spending significant amounts of taxpayers funding trying to maintain sub-standard buildings – and they will have to keep doing so in the years to come
At the budget in November, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced that health capital spending in the NHS is set to increase to record levels of £13.6bn in 2025/2026.
For schemes that were out of scope of the review, those already with approved full business cases will continue as planned and are already in construction (wave 0).
The remaining schemes will be allocated to one of three wave groups:
- Schemes in wave 1 are expected to begin construction between 2025-2030. These schemes include hospitals constructed primarily using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), and have been prioritised as patient and staff safety is paramount
- Shemes in waves 2 are expected to begin construction between 2030-2035
- Schemes in wave 3 are expected to begin construction between 2035-2039
Hospitals in later waves will be supported on their development and early construction work before then to ensure they are ready for main construction.
The plan for implementation sets out a clear pipeline of schemes to be delivered over the next decade and beyond.
The NHP will continue to work closely with industry to support construction, develop relationships, and secure investment within the supply chain.
Morag Stuart, chief programme officer for the New Hospital Programme, said of this week’s announcement: “This provides certainty on the next steps for the New Hospital Programme.
“We will continue to work with local NHS organisations to deliver improvements to hospitals across England, including making best use of new technology and improving layouts and ensuring future hospitals are designed to meet the needs of patients and staff.”
Transforming the NHS estate
The New Hospital Programme is just one part of the Government’s wider commitment to transforming the NHS estate.
Over £1bn has been set aside to make inroads into the existing backlog of critical maintenance, repairs, and upgrades; while £102m has been dedicated for upgrades to GP surgeries across England as a first step towards transforming the primary care estate.
Among the hospitals impacted by the review are the Royal Preston Hospital, operated by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and Royal Lancaster Infirmary, run by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.
We will continue to work with local NHS organisations to deliver improvements to hospitals across England, including making best use of new technology and improving layouts and ensuring future hospitals are designed to meet the needs of patients and staff
Following the review, construction work on a replacement Royal Lancaster Infirmary is due to begin between 2035-2038; while work on the new Royal Preston Hospital is expected to start between 2037-2039.
Aaron Cummins, chief executive of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, said of the announcement: “Any delay to the delivery of a replacement new hospital for the Royal Lancaster Infirmary is disappointing, but we accept the need for a fully-costed and deliverable timeline of investment through the New Hospital Programme.
“While this may not be the news local communities wanted, we hope that the outcome brings some certainty that patients and NHS colleagues will get the new hospital that they deserve.”
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) also has two projects within the programme – the National Rehabilitation Centre and ‘Tomorrow’s NUH’.
The National Rehabilitation Centre was not included in the review as it is already under construction and it will continue to go ahead as planned.
But the Government has announced that the Tomorrow’s NUH programme will face considerable further delays and commencement of the main scheme of work will not be allowed to begin until at least 2037.
Disappointment
The news was met with ‘disappointment’ from trust bosses who fear the impact on staff and patients.
Anthony May, trust chief executive, said: “While we welcome the Government’s ongoing commitment to Tomorrow’s NUH (TNUH), we are very disappointed that the review of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) means significant delays to the scheme.
“This will not only considerably impact our patients and staff for the coming years, but will also have a huge impact on our wider communities across the region.
“This will mean a significant delay to building a new Centre for Women, Children and Families for Nottingham and our cancer patients will have to wait an additional decade to receive treatment in a bespoke Cancer Care building.
“Nottingham will also continue to be one of the only acute hospitals in the country without a helipad and we will not be able to build the much-anticipated multi-storey carparks at NUH for many years.
“With one of the largest reported maintenance backlogs in the country (amounting to £439m), the NHP investment is desperately needed, and sooner rather than later, as the current condition of our estate limits our ability to provide the environment that our patients and staff deserve.
“Our Tomorrow’s NUH programme will be a significant solution to these issues, as well as being a catalyst for wider change within the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire region.”
Health think tank, The King’s Fund, also weighed in on the announcement, with its director of policy, partnerships, and events, Siva Anandaciva, telling Healthcare Property: “This review confirms that hospital leaders were right to be sceptical that there was enough funding to deliver the 40 new hospitals programme by the 2030 deadline.
With one of the largest reported maintenance backlogs in the country, the NHP investment is desperately needed, and sooner rather than later, as the current condition of our estate limits our ability to provide the environment that our patients and staff deserve
“The construction industry has not been immune from rising inflation and labour shortages over recent years, and it is welcome that new plans announced today aim to be more realistic, including a long-term outline for how the programme will be funded.
‘However, it will be devasting to staff and patients to hear that plans to rebuild many local hospitals will be kicked so far into the long grass.
“It is clear that the knackered condition of some NHS buildings and equipment in both hospital and out-of-hospital settings is harming patients and staff and hampering attempts to improve NHS productivity.
“Pausing or delaying plans to rebuild hospitals is also very likely to be a false economy – many hospitals are already spending significant amounts of taxpayers funding trying to maintain sub-standard buildings – and they will have to keep doing so in the years to come.
“Additionally, the scale of the crumbling NHS estate is far wider than the 40 rebuilds on the new hospital programme.
“Much of the mental health estate is some of the oldest within the NHS and it is reported that an estimated one in five of England’s GP premises pre-date when the NHS was formed in 1948.
“And, while £1bn was earmarked in the recent Budget for the most-critical maintenance issues in NHS hospitals, there is a £13.8bn maintenance backlog for buildings and equipment.
“The result is poorer patient care and staff experience because of multiple IT failures, flooded corridors, dangerous roofs, unreliable diagnostic equipment, and substandard layouts that create overcrowding in A&E departments.”