Boris Johnson sets out funding to build NHS hospitals
2 October 2020, 17:33
Boris Johnson has set out funding for new NHS hospitals, with 40 new hospitals set to be build across England.
In an announcement on Friday, Mr Johnson confirmed the funding for 40 hospitals, with a further eight schemes invited to bid for future funding.
In some cases, new hospitals will be built on new sites, the Department of Health said, but in others, a new hospital will be built on an existing site to replace existing facilities.
One of the hospitals on the list - the Royal Liverpool - was actually supposed to have been completed in 2017 under the controversial Private Finance Initiative but the project has suffered a series of delays and other setbacks, including the collapse of the original developer Carillion.
The Government said the package is worth £3.7 billion, with trusts that received seed funding now all fully funded to deliver 25 hospitals.
Mr Johnson said: "The dedication and tireless efforts of our nurses, doctors and all healthcare workers have kept the NHS open throughout this pandemic.
We will build 40 new hospitals in England by 2030 🏥
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) October 2, 2020
In addition, eight further NHS schemes are invited to bid for future funding.
In total this will deliver 48 new hospitals by 2030.
Click to read more 🔽
#OurNHSBuildings #OurNHS
"But no matter what this virus throws at us we are determined to build back better and deliver the biggest hospital building programme in a generation.
"From Morpeth to Milton Keynes, we are building 40 new hospitals across England to level up our NHS so more people have top-class healthcare services in their local area."
Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, said: "We protected the NHS through the peak of coronavirus.
"Today we recommit to protect the NHS for years to come with the 40 new hospitals we will build over the next decade.
"I love the NHS and I will do all I can to make sure it is there for you and your family over the years to come.
"The biggest hospital building programme in a generation will help protect the NHS long into the future."
In September 2019, the Prime Minister told newspapers he planned to build "40 new hospitals across England over the next decade".
He later clarified that initially £2.7 billion would be made available for six trusts to start building work immediately, and "seed funding" for a further 34 hospitals would be "forthcoming" to help them start developing projects.
