Government staff at programme that includes Airedale Hospital rebuild drops by two-thirds in two years

They were two of 40 “new” hospitals which Mr Johnson claimed would be completed before 2030, ahead of the 2019 election.

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 programme “was unfunded and undeliverable”. He described Mr Johnson’s promises as “a complete fiction”.

The Health Secretary’s new timeline means construction will start on Airedale General Hospital in 2027 or 2028, and on the LGI development between 2032 and 2034.

It has now emerged, via a written question from the Liberal Democrats, that the number of staff working on the programme from the Department for Health and Social Care has dropped from 60 in March 2022 to 22 in December 2024.

Health Minister Karin Smyth said these staff members were supported by “officials in NHS England, with input from officials in HM Treasury”.

Sir Ed Davey has urged the government to create a “crumbling hospitals taskforce” chaired by chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty to speed up the construction and support affected patients.

The Liberal Democrat leader said: “Almost every day we hear another horrifying story of patients suffering in unfit hospital buildings after the Conservative Party trashed our NHS, broke their promises to patients and left hospitals to crumble.

“After years of Conservative neglect, the Government needs to turn things around far more quickly. More dither and delay is the last thing patients need.”