The Health Secretary is resorting to giving patients virtual reality tours of the promised 40 new hospitals as they haven’t actually been built.
Steve Barclay is putting on roadshows across the country to give the public the chance to put on headsets and pretend they’re getting treated in the new facilities.
Labour declared it’s “time for a government that’s living in the real world” as they warned patients stuck on record waiting lists need actual hospitals not just make-believe ones. Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "The Conservatives have gone from doing virtually nothing, to doing nothing virtually.”
The Tories promised in their 2019 election manifesto that they would build “40 new hospitals” by 2030. Ministers have admitted some of the facilities included in the commitment will not be built from scratch and will just involve the refurbishment or alteration of existing buildings.
But even this watered down pledge is now in doubt as Mr Barclay has been forced to admit eight of the original group will not be completed by the deadline. Different hospital works will now be counted as part of the programme.
Mr Barclay has invited MPs to a “drop-in information event” he is hosting in Parliament next week. In a letter, he wrote: "Using the virtual reality headsets, videos and model, you will be able to see the proposed design concepts for new hospitals." He said the virtual tours would include a “walk-through of the typical patient journey from clinical area to recovery”.
He added: “We will also be commencing a roadshow of events across England over the summer to bring these resources to staff, patients and other local stakeholders so that they can see the plans for themselves.”
Mr Streeting said: “Patients are still waiting to see the promised 40 new hospitals in this reality. No wonder the public think the Tories are out of touch- the Health Secretary is literally in a parallel universe. It's time for a government that's living in the real world."
The NHS waiting list currently stands at a record high as more than 7.4million people await treatment in England. Health minister Maria Caulfield last week admitted it will “probably go up” even further, before it goes down.
A source close to Mr Barclay said: "Anyone who wants to see the reality of the NHS under Labour control can look at Labour run-Wales, where many patients wait far longer for treatment than in England.
"While Labour play political games, the Conservatives are cutting waiting lists, boosting NHS staff with the Long-Term Workforce plan and are on track to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030 backed by over £20billion of new investment."
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