NHS Confederation responds to watchdog's report into the New Hospital Programme

Responding to a new National Audit Office (NAO) report into the New Hospital Programme, Rory Deighton, acute and community care director at the NHS Confederation, said:

“Health leaders will welcome the NAO’s findings that the reset of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) has put it on a firmer footing with a more realistic timetable. But they also share the concerns with how long it will take for some of these vital improvements – including the projects to replace reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete (RAAC) at seven hospitals – to be completed.

“More than a decade of underinvestment has left the NHS with crumbling estates and aged infrastructure in desperate need of repair and upgrading, with the estate maintenance backlog climbing to a staggering £15.9 billion. This can be unsafe for staff and patients and hamper NHS productivity when it is pulling out all the stops to drive down waiting lists. 

“However, the scale of the capital challenges facing the NHS means that the NHP could never be a panacea, and further private investment in capital is one of the only viable options available to boost capital funding into the NHS. We have welcomed the government giving the green light for private capital to be used to fund the new wave of neighbourhood health centres, but if we are to fix the health service’s capital woes this should be extended more widely – particularly to hospitals and mental health services.”