New Hospital's Plan said to be "unachievable"

 

New Hospital's Plan "unachievable"?

A government infrastructure watchdog has raised serious concerns about the lack of progress made to build “40 new hospitals” by 2030, HSJ has learned.

Boris Johnson's election promise of "40 New Hospitals" has now been declared unachievable by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.

The plans to downgrade both Epsom and St Helier Hospitals and replace the acute services they provide -with a much much smaller,  more distant alternative, co located with the Marsden in Belmont- have been declared as unachievable, along with all  the other 39 such plans.

Many of the so called "40 new hospitals" involve cuts, downgrades and closures sometimes with smaller replacements and often involving NHS land sales, just like the Epsom and St Helier model.

"According to sources, the New Hospitals Programme – which was created to deliver the key manifesto pledge – has been downgraded to a “red” rating by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority following a review of the programme and its leadership."

"....a “red” rating means it “appears to be unachievable”.

The “red” rating also means there are “major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable”.

We wait to see what this might mean for Chorley, Preston & Lancaster.