None of Boris Johnson’s 40 ‘new hospitals’ will be fully built by the next election, an NHS chief predicted today.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which speaks for health trusts across the country, spoke out as the audit watchdog probes the notorious 2019 election pledge.
Officials previously said the “new hospitals” include refurbishments and new wings, not just new buildings, and six were due for completion by 2025 with the rest by 2030.
But Mr Taylor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It looks as though no new hospitals will be fully built by the next election.”
He was contradicted by Downing Street, which today insisted “by 2024, six hospitals will be completed”.
But Mr Taylor had already made a similar point on Sunday, telling LBC Radio: “None of those [six initial hospitals] are now going to be completed.
“And in fact, no work has even started in most cases."
Of the 40 ‘new hospitals’, 32 locations were announced in October 2020 and the remaining eight sites are due to be confirmed later this year.
On top of this, the government decided to include another eight projects that were already approved under the previous government, bringing the total to 48.
Mr Taylor told the BBC: “That list of 48 projects - there are new hospitals in there but the majority are upgrades, A&E upgrades, community hospital upgrades, they’re new wings.”
Speaking to the BBC he added: “I think the general public understand a new hospital is a brand new hospital, in those terms it is misleading.
“But to be fair to the government, for a number of years now they have sought to clarify exactly what they mean by this.
"And if you're in the health service, look - a new wing, an upgraded A&E, a hospital that's had dangerous parts of itself repaired - we'll take anything, to be honest, because so much of our estate is not in the condition we need it to be in."
Boris Johnson ’s official spokesman disputed Mr Taylor’s claim that none of the 40 ‘new hospitals’ would be completed by 2024.
He said: “We do remain on track to deliver the 40 new hospitals pledge by 2030.
“The funding for the initial schemes have been approved and by 2024, six hospitals will be completed with a further 30 under way.
“The Northern centre for cancer care is already completed, the Midland Metropolitan Hospital will be open in Spring 2024.
“And then you’ll have the final eight schemes announced later this year.”
Asked if Mr Taylor was wrong he replied: “I can’t speak for him, but on our current trajectory we are on track for the six hospitals to be completed by 2024.”
The definition is “a new hospital on an existing site, a major redevelopment or refurbishment of an existing site or a new wing of an existing hospital, providing it provides an entirely new clinical service,” No10 said.
It came as the flagship election pledge to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 undergoed a probe by the official audit watchdog.
The National Audit Office plans a "value for money review" that could consider rising costs due to inflation - and whether the hospitals will in fact be new.
The investigation emerged in a letter to Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting from NAO comptroller Gareth Davies after the Labour MP warned of a waste of taxpayers' money.
In the letter first reported by the Observer, Mr Davies said: "I can confirm that I already have plans to start a value for money review of the New Hospitals Programme later this year and to report my findings during 2023.”
