Latest news with #NewHospitalProgramme
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
'The state of hospital buildings is unacceptable'
Looking around the dilapidated wards of Hillingdon Hospital in north-west London, Health minister Karin Smyth says she "knows people deserve better services". "I'm from Hillingdon, so I really do understand the difficulties that staff are working in here," she told BBC London. Hillingdon was the only London trust to get the go-ahead for a new hospital as part of the current New Hospital Programme. Ms Smyth said the state of hospital buildings across London was "unacceptable". London's hospitals have been given about £160m of emergency cash from an Estates Safety Fund to try to keep them running until they can be replaced, but trusts say the money is not enough to cover the repairs needed. Ms Smyth said: "We know there's been disappointment, a lot of delays, but this new government has got on with the review - we want to see this got on with now." She added: "When we came in as a new government last July, there wasn't funding for any of these schemes beyond March. "We understand the disappointment in other communities - but we have sought to put this programme now on a firm financial footing for the first time. That didn't happen before." Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, east London, is not dissimilar to Hillingdon. Shane DeGaris, the chief executive of Barts Health NHS Trust, described it as having "really substandard facilities". It was due to be rebuilt by 2026, but following a review of the New Hospitals Programme, the work has been delayed. Now the only part to be rebuilt before 2033 is the car park. The trust estimates the delays to rebuilding the hospital will cost £200m. At St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London, walls are crumbling around patients. The government has delayed the building of a new hospital there until 2035. In the meantime, the hospital's trust has been given £25m from the government for repairs to energy systems, electrical systems, water systems, ventilation systems, fire safety works and drainage works. But this must be shared between St Mary's, Charing Cross and Hammersmith hospitals. The trust estimates it will spend over £100m on repairs at St Mary's Hospital alone until it is rebuilt. St Helier Hospital, in south London, was given the go-ahead for a new hospital in 2020, but that has now been delayed until 2033. The hospital, which opened in 1941, recently reported having to knock down a ward due to sinking foundations and windows falling out. The trust that runs it, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Our ageing hospitals are deteriorating faster than we can fix them." It estimates the costs of the delays to upgrades needed to both St Helier, and Epsom hospitals will amount to an additional £150m a year. It has been given £12m as part of the Estates Safety Fund. Last month, Ken Welch, former director of facilities, estates and supplies at St Helier Hospital, said the condition of the buildings raised serious concerns. "I've seen a lot in 30 years working in the NHS, but the condition of the buildings at St Helier is among the worst," he said. "I'm seriously concerned about the risk of fire, particularly with the growing use of corridor care. But most of all, I'm worried about the safety of the patients." Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Hospitals may close without upgrades, bosses fear Crumbling hospital must be rebuilt - trust boss Hospital infrastructure 'among worst in NHS' New Hospitals Programme
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Funding secured to buy land for new hospital
The chief executive of an NHS trust has said she is "delighted" that it will be able to purchase land for a new hospital. Alex Whitfield, the head of Hampshire Hospitals, confirmed it has been allocated funding to buy a site near junction seven of the M3 for a new facility in Basingstoke. In January she expressed "disappointment" with the government decision to delay construction until 2037. She said there was no update on the date of the build, but being able to buy the land this financial year does "at least feel like progress". Hampshire Hospitals is expected to receive at least £2bn of funding as part of the Government's New Hospital programme. But it is part of the third wave of the scheme, meaning work will not begin on the new building for at least 12 years. Ms Whitfield said they needed to secure the land near the M3 so that the option "doesn't disappear on us". She admitted this did not guarantee that the hospital would be built at the site. "It is entirely possible that in a decade's time the world might have changed a bit," she said. "It's very clear that Basingstoke needs a new hospital and it will happen." She said Health Minister Karin Smyth visited the trust recently and confirmed it "will get built". Roy Lilley, a former NHS trust boss, who is now an independent health commentator, is less optimistic and does not think the hospital will be built. "It's just totally and utterly bonkers," he said, adding that the government and economy could change by 2037. "The money that we are spending at the moment to prop these places up, we could actually use that money to build new hospitals," Mr Lilley said. Kit Malthouse, Conservative MP for North West Hampshire said: "Waiting until 2037 is not just unacceptable — it's senseless. "Forecasting that far ahead is unreliable; by then we'll have had three general elections and a completely different spending landscape. Delaying now risks killing the project entirely. "Our population has grown and will grow further. Our existing hospital buildings at Basingstoke are outdated and under strain. "Other communities in the national programme are seeing their hospitals delivered much sooner — why not ours?" A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said: "The New Hospital Programme we inherited was undeliverable, with funding due to run out in March. "This government has confirmed a funding plan and an honest, realistic timetable to put us on track to deliver the rebuild of Hampshire Hospital, and we will work closely with the trust as we progress through our delivery plan. "We have also allocated £1bn to address the backlog of critical NHS maintenance and repairs to help ensure hospitals are safe and sustainable." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Host of hospital builds delayed by up to 14 years New hospital build delay 'really disappointing' Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'We need £70m to maintain Harlow's hospital,' says chief executive
The boss of one of Essex's main NHS hospitals has said it needed "an additional £70m over the next 10 years" to maintain "key services that are deteriorating".Thom Lafferty, chief executive of the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow said there was "an urgent need" for emergency capital is due to have a new hospital built from 2032 and it is expected to take another five years before it is ready to receive Department of Health and Social Care said "we have put the New Hospital Programme on a sustainable and realistic footing". The BBC was given access to Princess Alexandra to see how the 70-year-old estate and its buildings a warm, sunny day in May, A&E was full. The four resuscitation bays were full all morning. There were patients waiting on trollies in the corridor. Phillip Clarke needed paramedics to help his grandson get him off the floor after he had had a fall. The 71-year-old from Harlow is matter-of-fact about waiting on a trolley in a corridor: "It's one of them things you've got to do. It's just my arthritis killing me".There are works under way to open more bays next to the emergency Princess Alexandra received emergency capital funding, money would go to maternity services which Mr Lafferty said was "really struggling"."We had maternity theatres closed a couple of weeks that severely impacted our operational services. The basics like even maternity toilets have been out of use a lot because of a historic drainage issue," he said. Walking through the corridors of the emergency department, the hospital's chief operating officer Stephanie Lawton said the size of the hospital was having an impact."Our space is really constrained. It was built many years ago for a smaller population; the population has grown and increased the demand on our services," she said. "Our number of cubicles hasn't really changed over many years but yet our volume of patients has increased." The A&E was designed for 250 patients a day but often more than 450 come through the doors at Princess Alexandra. About 60% of patients come from Essex and 40% from Hertfordshire. There are parts of the hospital no longer in use. Hardev Sagoo, who maintains the 70-year-old hospital estate, said: "There are at least two operating theatres that have been out of action for a number of years because we don't have the funds to bring them up to standard."In the bowels of the hospital there are three sewage leaks a week where a lot of the pipe work and electrics date back to the 1960s. Mr Sagoo said the hospital's "life has expired". Plans for the new Princess Alexandra Hospital include single rooms with en suites. Presently, on Fleming Ward there are two bathrooms for 27 patients."It's a bit difficult when you want to go to the loo because there aren't many toilets," said Helen Puckett, 68, from is likely to be in hospital for about month to have a valve replaced in her heart."There's a shower that is freezing old. There is a shower that is nice and warm, but obviously everyone wants to get in there," she hospital said its existing funding and income comprises:a £50m annual "core allocation" for its "business as usual" capital programme£450m revenue this year from the NHS to treat patientsMr Lafferty said the extra £70m would "make sure our hospital services are functional".A DHSC spokesperson said "over £1bn has been set aside to make inroads into the backlog of critical maintenance and repairs, safety and upgrades across the NHS estate". The government said "hospitals including Princess Alexandra will receive funding when necessary" but did not comment on the specific request for £70m. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
New Preston hospital should be built in stages, MP says
The government is being lobbied to build the new Royal Preston Hospital in stages so that some of its key services can open sooner than they would on the current long-delayed replacement building, provisionally earmarked for a site in the Farington area of South Ribble in Lancashire, had been due to begin operating by the the government announced in January that construction work on the £2bn scheme would not now begin until between 2037 and Valley MP Maya Ellis, in whose constituency the Royal Preston's current Fulwood site sits, said she had been talking to ministers about the possibility of a phased development. The Labour politician was speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service in response to being accused of failing residents by voting against a parliamentary bid to speed up the process of replacing the ageing facility.A Liberal Democrat opposition day motion in the Commons last week called on the government to "reverse the delay" to the nationwide New Hospital Programme of which the Royal Preston is a part. 'Reverse the delay' Councillor John Potter, who leads the Lib Dem opposition group on Preston City Council, condemned local Labour MPs for not backing his party's push and taking Central Lancashire "for granted".He said: "Many Preston residents will be let down that Labour voted down a Lib Dem motion calling for the hospital delays to be reversed."What is even worse is that our two Labour MPs in Preston didn't put the best interest of their residents first. Maya Ellis voted against while [Preston constituency MP] Sir Mark Hendrick didn't bother to vote."Sir Mark Hendrick's office was approached for a comment. The veteran MP has previously opposed the suggested shift of the Royal Preston to Stanifield Lane in Farington – some eight miles away from its current base – calling instead for a "refurbishment" of the existing site and for a new urgent treatment facility to be opened in the city Ellis said: "I absolutely recognise that Royal Preston Hospital is no longer fit for purpose and the government is doing everything it can to ensure it is rebuilt as soon as possible."The maintenance backlog at the Royal Preston was estimated to stand at £157m according to a calculation made in 2021 as part of the case to secure funding for a new building. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
St Helier A&E 'at breaking point' and is among London's worst for wait times
A&E services at St Helier Hospital are facing unprecedented pressure says local MP, with more than 2,000 patients waiting more than 12 hours for treatment this past winter. Bobby Dean MP believes the Sutton hospital has reached a 'breaking point' as the Trust has been named one of the worst-performing NHS trusts in London in terms of A&E wait times. Research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats revealed that more than 34 per cent of patients had to wait more than 12 hours to be admitted to A&E at Epsom and St Helier Trust. St Helier Hospital Sutton Carshalton and Wallington MP Mr Dean slammed these delays, pointing out the Trust's infrastructure is struggling under the pressure of outdated facilities. He said: 'Delays to the promised St Helier upgrades directly threaten the future of our hospital and leave patients and NHS staff paying the price. "The queues to get emergency treatment are spiralling across the country, but the poor state of our buildings is making the situation even worse.' Bobby Dean MP In 2019, the then-Boris Johnson-led government promised £500 million for Sutton as part of the nationwide New Hospital Programme (NHP). The estimated cost now, though, is between £1.5 billion and £2 billion. The NHP promised to build 40 new hospitals by 2030. However, the current Labour government have since dismissed Mr Johnson's plans as 'a work of fiction'. As a result, vital upgrades have been pushed back to the 2030s, leaving the future of St Helier Hospital hanging in the balance. The hospital's ageing infrastructure has exacerbated the strain, leaving the community to suffer while vital upgrades remain delayed. Mr Dean warned the delays to upgrades threaten the hospital's future, leaving both patients and NHS staff bearing the brunt. He described the growing queues for emergency care as a national crisis but added that the poor condition of hospital buildings is making the situation even worse. The local MP shared a personal experience of the crisis, recounting how an elderly relative had to wait on the floor in A&E due to a shortage of trolleys and beds. 'The government must see sense and urgently bring forward these long-overdue upgrades,' Mr Dean said. In response, a spokesperson for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'While patients in our emergency department are kept safe and we prioritise those who are the sickest, we don't want to be providing care in this way and apologise to anyone experiencing long waits as our teams continue to do the best they can under huge pressure. 'We've been very busy, driven by a surge in viruses such as flu and norovirus – people can help us by using NHS 111, their GP or a pharmacy if their need is less urgent, and by getting their jabs.' The trust has spent £60 million over the past five years improving its facilities but admitted its ageing hospitals are deteriorating faster than they can be fixed. They added that while construction of a new hospital and upgrades to existing sites will now begin later than planned, patient safety remains the trust's top priority.
