The Labour government review of the Conservatives’ New Hospital Programme will present a “full range of options” for the project, despite it previously committing to honouring the scheme.
In total, the feasibility of 25 new hospital projects committed to by the Tories in their 2019 election manifesto will be under the microscope.
The review, requested by chancellor, Rachel Reeves and health secretary, Wes Streeting, will “consider the options for putting the New Hospital Programme onto a realistic, deliverable and affordable footing”.
It will be jointly led and resourced across the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and HM Treasury (HMT).
“The review will assess the appropriate schedule for delivery for schemes in the New Hospital Programme in the context of overall constraints to hospital building and wider health infrastructure priorities, while also looking at where improvements can be made,” the DHSC said.
It added that the review “will present a full range of options to be taken forward for the overall size and ambition of the programme to provide a clear approach for the programme going forward”.
This would appear to leave open the option of cancelling any developments on the programme, despite the commitment made in June before the General Election.
Health & Protection has contacted the DHSC about the possibility for cancelling any projects.
Hospitals excluded
Hospital schemes that have approved full business cases, and any associated phases that have specific commitments, will be out of scope of the review.
Out of scope will be the critical seven hospitals with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which will proceed at pace due to the substantive safety risks associated with these.
Nine further hospitals have been excluded from the review as Labour said these schemes were in the later stages of development prior to the New Hospital Programme being announced by the Conservatives.
“This government does not therefore consider them to have been wholly delivered by the programme,” it said.
In scope will be all remaining hospitals in the New Hospital Programme without full business case approvals for their main build phase, totalling 25 facilities.
Government added the review, which was first announced at the end of July, will feed into the spending review process, where decisions on the outcome will be taken in the round, adding it will confirm its outcome as part of that process.
The 25 hospitals inside the scope of the review include:
- Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital
- Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital, North West London
- Derriford Emergency Care Hospital, Plymouth
- Eastbourne District General
- Conquest Hospital and Bexhill Community Hospital,
- Hampshire Hospitals
- Hillingdon Hospital, North West London
- Kettering General Hospital
- Leeds General Infirmary
- Leicester General Hospital Royal Infirmary
- Milton Keynes Hospital
- Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton
- North Devon District Hospital, Barnstaple
- North Manchester General Hospital
- Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow
- Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) and Nottingham City Hospital
- Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading
- Royal Lancaster Infirmary
- Royal Preston Hospital
- Shotley Bridge Community Hospital, Durham
- Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, Sutton
- St Mary’s Hospital, North West London
- Torbay Hospital
- Watford General Hospital
- Whipps Cross University Hospital, North East London
- Women and Children’s Hospital, Cornwall