Government pledges £13bn to turn 40 hospitals into 'state-of-the-art facilities'
2 min read
Forty NHS hospitals will be modernised at a cost of £13bn over the next decade, the Government has announced.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the project will be the “biggest hospital building programme in a generation”.
The announcement was timed to co-incide with the start of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.
Facilities such as Whipps Cross University Hospital in London, which Boris Johnson visited earlier this month, and Leeds General Infirmary are among those earmarked for the upgrades, while Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham and community hospitals around the UK will also benefit.
A further £200m has been set aside for replacing MRI, CT scanners and breast cancer screening equipment.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Mr Hancock said: “We are the party of the NHS and we care deeply about the NHS because it’s there for each and every one of us in our hour of need. We now have record numbers of GPs in training, record numbers of doctors and nurses on our wards, but the infrastructure is creaking.
“Some of our buildings are so out of date they make it much more difficult to run a modern hospital, so there will be state-of-the-art facilities.
“It’s the biggest hospital building programme in a generation and it’s about making sure that, when you need it, the hospital can treat you with the best possible care.”
A fresh mental health approach to be trialled in 12 areas of England, with housing and job support alongside psychological support, has also been announced.
The pilot will receive a £70m cash boost, as part of the Government’s wider £2.3bn a year by 2023-24 pledged to improve mental health care.
An extra 1,000 specialist staff are expected to be recruited for the trial.
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