Labour slams 'outrageous' hold-up as new Leeds hospitals are 'ready to go'

A building housing a state-of-the-art adults hospital, a new children’s hospital and a maternity centre is due to be built on the site of Leeds General Infirmary and open in 2030. It is expected to cost more than £650m.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been granted outline planning permission for the hospitals and it cleared the site last summer by demolishing a building that once provided accommodation for nurses.

In May, the government confirmed it was committed to providing the funding, as part of a £20bn project to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030.

But the trust is currently waiting for Ministers and the Treasury to approve the business case for the project.

During a visit to Leeds, Mr Streeting said the government needs to release the funding for new hospitals as the trust is “ready to go”.

He said: “When are they going to get it out of the treasury and into the trust so we can give the people of Leeds the brand-new hospital building they deserve?

“I think it’s shambolic and outrageous that a plan is sitting there and ready to go but it’s only through political incompetence that the money hasn’t been released.

“We know with this government that the longer they delay, the more costs rack up and the harder it will be for the trust leadership to deliver.”

The Department of Health and Social Care said it remains committed to delivering the new hospitals by 2030.

“We have already provided over £27m to progress the scheme and the trust are working closely with the New Hospital Programme to develop plans aligned with our national approach,” a spokesman said.

“This will mean the hospital will be built more quicky resulting in facilities that are at the cutting edge of modern technology, innovation, sustainability and excellent patient care.”

In July, the National Audit Office warned the New Hospital Programme faced “substantial delays and will not be completed” by 2030.

According to the public spending watchdog, 32 new hospitals could still be built by 2030 but there is "uncertainty in government” about rising costs, design and supply issues and a shortage of suitable construction firms.

It also said Department of Health and Social Care had adopted a broad definition of “new”, including refurbishment of existing buildings, as well as completely new hospitals.

The government altered the project earlier this year, claiming eight ongoing construction projects would be counted towards the target, even though they were not part of the programme when it was originally set out in October 2020.

It comes as NHS patients across the country are being told to expect disruption this week, as junior doctors are staging a 72-hour strike as part of a row over pay.

The walkout, which began at 7am on Wednesday, comes after talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and government broke down earlier this month. Another six-day strike, which would be the longest in NHS history, is planned for January.

The average pay for junior doctors, which make up around half of all doctors in the NHS, was increased by 9 per cent earlier this year and they have been offered another 3 per cent rise.

However, the BMA has demanded a 35 per cent pay rise, claiming it will restore the value of doctors’ pay to 2008 levels.

Mr Streeting said a Labour government could not commit to that pay rise, because the public finances are “in a total mess”.

“Getting back to paying NHS staff fairly will be a journey, not an event,” he added.