Majority of 40 new hospitals promised by Boris Johnson in 2019 unlikely to be finished by next general election

80% of the 40 new hospitals promised by the Conservatives in 2019 either do not have a completion date or are unlikely to be finished by the next general election, according to a Sky News investigation.

The new hospitals’ pledge, a key plank of Boris Johnson’s 2019 election manifesto, promised 40 new hospitals by the end of this decade.

Seven of the 40 hospitals still do not have a completion date, with another 25 not expected to be finished until at least 2024, the year of the next general election.

In a statement, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said that they will deliver by 2030, and they have been “working tirelessly with NHS partners on their building plans”.

But, over the past eight months alone, deadlines for some of the hospitals have slipped. When Sky News started its investigation last December, the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust said its new London hospital was set for completion in 2024-2026.

The new hospital is now not due to be ready “until 2027 at the earliest”.

Another, the Royal Cornwall Hospital Children’s hospital, was originally expected to complete between 2024 and 2026. That has now shifted to between 2026 and 2028.

Others are still awaiting approval of what is known as their “Outline Business Case” - they have submitted plans, but have not yet had them confirmed. Final plans, programmes and funding are only settled once a full business case has been reviewed and agreed.

BJ and broken promises … nothing new there … :man_shrugging:

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You can’t complain. Frankly, I’m surprised they’ve started building any!

BJ and broken promises … nothing new there

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What about the Doctors and Nurses to staff these Hospitals

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Hi

It will long since be forgotten about by then, the politicians rely on that.

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Mr Barclay also acknowledged that some of the hospitals originally promised would now be completed after 2030 but a total of 40 projects would still be finished by that date.

Pressed over whether a refurbishment could be considered a “new” hospital, Mr Barclay told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “If it’s a new wing, a new facility, a women’s and children hospital for example as part of a wider compass… what matters to you as a patient is whether the facilities are state of the art, whether they’re new.”

The commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 was made by Boris Johnson and included in the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto.

However, this week the government said eight schemes would now be completed after 2030 to prioritise five other more urgent developments. The five hospitals are deemed at risk of collapse because of deteriorating concrete infrastructure.

On Sunday’s programme Barclay continued to refer to “40 new hospitals” even though he finally accepted that not all of them would be brand new.

A BBC investigation last week found building work was yet to start for 33 of the government’s promised 40 new hospitals.

Smoke and mirrors … :roll_eyes:

At a glance

  • The health secretary told the Commons work had started at two London hospitals

  • The trust that manages the hospitals says it is not aware of the work

  • Labour MP for Hammersmith Andy Slaughter has accused Mr Barclay of misleading Parliament

  • The Department for Health said it “remain committed” to schemes at the hospitals

Barclay’s pants are smokin’ … :fire:

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The government is on track to break a key election promise from Boris Johnson to build 40 new hospitals in England by the end of the decade, a damning report by the public spending watchdog has found. Delays to projects mean the target is unlikely to be met, with work on buildings in the second cohort of the scheme yet to have started as of May, according to the National Audit Office.

The approach to achieving objectives at the lowest possible cost could also result in hospitals that are too small, the watchdog warned, as modelling assumptions may be unrealistic about the extent to which care in future will be provided outside hospitals.

The government failed to achieve good value for money, with the scheme having cost £1.1bn by March this year, and progress has been slower than expected, the report concluded.

Steve Barclay’s department was said to have taken a “maximum risk” approach to the project. Analysis by the NAO found that of the 32 projects announced in 2020 that are being taken forward, just 11 qualify as “whole new hospitals”.

It said 20 amounted to rebuilds of existing hospitals, erecting major new buildings at existing sites or a major redevelopment of existing buildings. One scheme did not meet any of those criteria, according to the report.

The watchdog cautioned that larger hospital projects may have to take place simultaneously – making it harder to find builders and ramping up costs.

The hospitals could be forced to run at very high occupancy levels, as much as 95%, which were said by the NAO to be “highly undesirable and indicative of crisis”.

NHS England has prioritised reducing occupancy rates to 92% over the current financial year, leading the report to warn: “There is a risk that running hospitals very full in future may affect their smooth operation and reduce the amount of spare capacity for coping with normal variations in demand, unexpected shocks and health crises.”

The claim will ignite concerns that the new hospitals would struggle to cope in the event of another pandemic, given England already has one of the highest rates of hospital bed occupancy among countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “By the definition the government used in 2020, it will now deliver 32 rather than 40 new hospitals by 2030.”

In May, a reset of the scheme was conducted by Steve Barclay. He revealed eight of the original cohort of 40 hospitals would be delayed into the next decade.

In a bid to save face and claim the government would still hit its target, he included five other hospitals in the programme. Five are built with concrete that is well past its 30-year lifespan, and three are schemes for mental health facilities.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “The NAO’s report acknowledges that, despite changes to the original programme, 40 new hospitals are still expected to be delivered by 2030 (1) and praises the programme’s innovative plans to standardise hospital construction, deliver efficiencies and improve quality.

“We remain firmly committed to delivering these hospitals, which are now expected to be backed by over £20bn of investment – helping to cut waiting lists so people can get the treatment they need quicker. Three new hospitals have already opened and more will open this year so patients and staff can benefit from major new hospital buildings, equipped with the latest technology.” (2)

(1) That’s not how understand the report’s summary

(2) Smoke and mirrors

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Did anyone in the country, even the most dim and thick Boris Johnson fangirls and fanboys, think they would happen?

The guy is a populist and a con man who talks big, “have our cake and eat it” , “oven ready Brexit deal”, “garden bridge”, “HS2 to Leeds”

He tells the morons what they want to hear while feathering his own nest

And they lap it up and still think he can do no wrong and the sun shines out of his arse

(I’m looking at you, Nadine and Jacob :rofl:)

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Of course Nadine believed it:

:grin:

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If our local hospital is not replaced it will fall down! no kidding.