Responding to the Labour Party's pledge to progress the New Hospital Programme, Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King's Fund, said:
‘Across every corner of England, many parts of the NHS estate are crying out for capital investment. There is a running cost of £12.4 billion for NHS buildings and equipment, and the result is multiple IT failures, flooded corridors, dangerous roofs, unreliable diagnostic equipment and substandard layouts that create overcrowding in A&E departments. Staff are left trying to deliver a 21st-century health service out of a 19th-century estate.
‘The New Hospital Programme is the most significant recent policy to address these issues, and it is positive to see Labour pledge to continue progressing the programme if elected. What we are yet to see are the Labour Party's details on timelines for delivery and how it will be funded, especially since some plans underway are already over budget.
‘The sites earmarked for the New Hospital Programme are mostly acute hospital buildings. Yet the mental health estate is some of the oldest within the NHS, with 18% constructed before the NHS was formed in 1948 and multiple sites classified as not suitable for the patients they serve. Similarly, it is reported that an estimated one in five of England's GP premises pre-date 1948, yet they are outside the scope of this programme. The NHS is also still discovering the full impact of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which makes buildings structurally unsound.
‘Beyond the New Hospital Programme, after multiple years of capital budgets being raided to prop up day-to-day spending in the NHS, it will be crucial that whichever party wins the election also commits to a multi-year capital settlement to address the issues facing the health and care estate, rather than simply relying on short-term plugs. In the long term, future capital funding should be directed into improving the primary care and community estate as part of a comprehensive plan to refocus the health and care system towards primary and community care to create a more effective and sustainable NHS.'
Notes to editors
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The Public Accounts Committee report shows that the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that there are 42 hospital sites (at 39 NHS trusts) where RAAC needs to be removed
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National data shows that in 2022/23 there were 810 incidents relating to infrastructure risks on mental health and learning disability sites. Read The King's Fund's Mental Health 360 section on funding and costs
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The King's Fund published a blog by Charlotte Wickens, Policy Adviser, on the Estates Returns Information Collection
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The King's Fund has published three general election priorities any future government should take to ‘fix' health and care
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The King's Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and care in England. We help to shape policy and practice through research and analysis; develop individuals, teams and organisations; promote understanding of the health and social care system; and bring people together to learn, share knowledge and debate. Our vision is that the best possible health and care is available to all.