MP 'seeking assurances' that Airedale Hospital redevelopment will not face further delays with NHS reforms
An MP is “seeking assurances” that the long-awaited programme to renovate Airedale General Hospital will not be further delayed by Sir Keir Starmer’s NHS reorganisation.
At a speech in Hull on Thursday, the Prime Minister announced he was abolishing NHS England, the arm’s length body created in 2012 to oversee the budget, planning, and day-to-day operation of the commissioning side of the health service.
These functions are set to be moved to the Department for Health and Social care, while half of the staff at the organisation, which is headquartered in Leeds, will lose their jobs.
He claimed the move would free up money for doctors, nurses and frontline services, and cut red tape to help speed up improvements in the NHS, amid frustrations about the pace of change.
However, NHS leaders have raised concerns about the impact of the huge reorganisation on Labour’s big ambitions for the health service.
This includes the Conservatives’ controversial New Hospital Programme, which promised to redevelop Airedale General Hospital, in Keighley, and a raft of modernisations and improvements at Leeds General Infirmary.
A building housing a state-of-the-art adults hospital, a new children’s hospital and a maternity centre was due to be constructed on the site of LGI and open in 2030, costing more than £650m.
A complete rebuild had been ordered for Airedale General Hospital by 2030, which was found to be at risk of collapse due to its construction with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Both these projects have been delayed, with the Health Secretary, Mr Streeting, saying the original programme “was unfunded and undeliverable”.
The new timeline means construction will start on Airedale General Hospital in 2027 or 2028, and on the LGI development between 2032 and 2034.
The New Hospitals Programme originally sat within DHSC, the Government department which oversees the health service, but in 2023 was moved to NHS England.
As such, the number of Government staff working on delivering the projects dropped from 60 in March 2022 to just 22 in December 2024.
Now the programme, which has already been delayed multiple times, is set to be moved back to DHSC.
Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore told The Yorkshire Post: “Whilst I am supportive of the move to reduce government bureaucracy and duplication, it is critical this is done professionally and in a targeted way.
“I am therefore seeking assurances from the DHSC that the axing of NHS England will not cause needless delays to our new Airedale Hospital.
"Residents across my constituency simply cannot afford to wait any longer for this project to reach completion."
Mr Streeting has said the reorganisation involving NHS England should take just two years, however within the NHS there is scepticism about this timeline.
The Yorkshire Post understands that the process of moving staff over is likely to be highly complex, given the significantly higher average wages for staff at NHS England.
The headcount is also going cut in half, with Mr Streeting pledging to remove duplications.
Fears around delays are particularly acute around Airedale General Hospital, as it has to be completed by 2030 otherwise much of the hospital will have to be closed due to risk of collapse.
DHSC denied either works would be affected by the reorganisation.
A spokesperson said: “The timetable for the New Hospital Programme and construction of Airedale General Hospital remains unchanged.
"Bringing NHS England into the department will reduce bureaucracy, make savings and allow the NHS to deliver better care to patients."