Some of the construction projects are already up to four years behind schedule, while others have been hit by massive cost overruns due to difficulties in obtaining signage at some points. England’s new hospital program is progressing so slowly that bosses at half of the hospitals set to benefit doubt they will ever get the money to deliver the promised rebuild, according to a report and survey of health chiefs by NHS providers. The government launched its health infrastructure plan in September 2019 with a commitment to build six new hospitals and provide start-up funding for 21 other trusts. Building 40 new hospitals was a key Conservative pledge in the 2019 general election campaign. From the start, ministers were accused of over-promising and under-promising. But hospital bosses at many of the 35 trusts involved have been left struggling to explain to their local communities why more did not happen, despite the Prime Minister’s rhetoric, NHS providers have found. And instability within the government caused by this week’s wave of ministerial resignations and uncertainty over Johnson’s future have raised further doubts about when the 40 will finally be completed. “The new hospital program was already moving along at a glacial pace and any political paralysis that further slows that progress will be very unhelpful for trusts… We could see the enthusiasm to push forward and make decisions diminish,” said Saffron Cordery , the interim chief executive of NHS providers. There are “significant question marks about the level of funding available and how that funding will get to the trusts that need it”, he added. The survey, based on responses from chief executives or directors of finance or strategy at 26 of the 35 trusts, also found that 39% of new hospital schemes will not be completed on time. Bosses in 62% of these fear that inadequate old buildings are putting patient safety at risk. A hospital in a rural area had to send seriously ill patients to other hospitals up to 50 miles away and cancel cancer surgery when an inspection found the roof of the intensive care unit was in danger of collapsing. Another hospital had to close an entire ward for the same reason, while another is plagued with sewage regularly leaking into clinical areas due to the age of the facility. A chief executive of the trust said: “The whole fabric of the building has been shot and we have to rebuild. Construction was supposed to be completed in 2024 but [we are] now looking at 2027.” Another boss said: “We are running 21st century healthcare from 19th century buildings – increasingly unsustainable.” A third chief added: “The malaise afflicting the rebuilding program is a real risk to patient safety and one of the biggest unspoken crises that has gradually crept into the NHS.” Bosses believe the £3.7 billion allocated for the scheme will not be nearly enough, especially with recent big increases in the cost of construction programs linked to supply problems and labor shortages. “Delays caused by government incompetence are costing taxpayers dearly and leaving patients waiting longer,” said Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary. “The new hospitals program is just another example of the Conservatives failing to deliver on their promises.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Last weekend the Observer revealed that the National Audit Office, Whitehall’s spending watchdog, plans to review the new hospital scheme. The Department of Health and Social Care has insisted it will build 40 “new hospitals” by 2030. “We will deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030. Together with eight existing programmes, this will mean 48 hospitals delivered by the end of the decade, with six under construction and one completed,” a spokesman said. “We are working closely with NHS trusts on the program to develop their building plans. Each of the building projects will be new hospitals providing brand new, state-of-the-art facilities to ensure world-class healthcare delivery for NHS patients and staff, replacing aging infrastructure.”
