The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said it is assessing ‘clinical outcomes, deliverability, cost and estate condition’ of all 40 hospitals previously earmarked for regeneration, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
The government has revealed some detail on its funding review into the Whipps Cross Hospital rebuild.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) explained it would be assessing “clinical outcomes, deliverability, cost and estate condition” of all 40 hospitals earmarked for regeneration.
Whipps Cross has been hit with repeated delays, with the NHS previously saying it was “highly unlikely” it would be ready by the 2030 target date. It could not offer an updated projection.
Barts Health NHS Trust, which oversees the hospital and four others, declined to comment until the review had concluded.
The hospital was included in the Conservatives’ New Hospital Programme in 2019, a £20billion plan to improve the UK’s ageing health buildings.
Shortly after the July election, the new Labour government announced it would be exploring its financial options and froze the “unfunded” scheme.
A “full range of options” for each will be presented to ministers after the review is finished. Timelines are expected to change and construction of the new medical centres could be phased differently.
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The ageing Whipps Cross Hospital, in Leytonstone, caters to some 400,000 people across Waltham Forest and Redbridge.
The DHUSC previously said it “remained committed” to the new hospital.
A spokesperson said: “We remain committed to the delivery of the new hospital for Barts Health NHS Trust at Whipps Cross as part of our New Hospital Programme.
“The New Hospital Programme continues to work closely with the trust on plans for their new hospital aligned to our standardised approach, Hospital 2.0.”
The 25 hospitals selected for review are all without an approved business case, which would explain why they need redeveloping.
Shortly before the review was announced, Barts Health said it was still waiting for approval. Construction has begun on a new 500-space car park, however, which was a prerequisite to the new hospital.
Just five ‘new’ hospitals have been completed since the scheme was unveiled half a decade ago. Construction will continue on a further four, the DHUSC says.
Clyde Loakes, the deputy leader of Waltham Forest Council, previously said the authority would continue to push for the “desperately needed funding” for a new Whipps Cross Hospital that “meets the needs of the community into the 21st century and beyond”.
He said a “modern, state-of-the-art” hospital was “important” for the 400,000 residents relying on it, adding: “They deserve a Whipps Cross that is fit for the future.”
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