The announcement comes in light of a review by the Department of Health and Social Care which said the previous government’s plan to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030 was “unfunded and undeliverable”. Similarly, another annual report by the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) said the previous scheme was “unachievable” and rated the program red, highlighting major issues with the schedule and budget.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting 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 forty 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 Hospitals Programme runs out in March. We were determined to put the program on a firm footing, so we can build the new hospitals our NHS needs,” Steering added.
A press release states the new plan will be backed by £15bn of new investment over consecutive five-year waves, averaging £3bn a year. Steering called it an “honest, funded, and deliverable program to rebuild NHS”.
The government is committed to rebuilding the NHS and rebuilding trust in government. The new plan will ensure that staff and patients have access to the facilities they desperately need around the country as soon as possible, the release added.