Building better hospitals

All three of the Trust’s main sites are included in the Government’s New Hospital Programme. This includes a full rebuild of St Mary’s and major refurbishment and some new build at both Charing Cross and Hammersmith hospitals. A new Western Eye Hospital is expected to be incorporated into whichever is the most suitable of the developments.

The New Hospital Programme’s initial commitment was to build 40 new hospitals by 2030. Our hospitals have the highest levels of urgent backlog maintenance requirements in the NHS.

In May 2023, the government announced that the main capital funding for our schemes would be delayed and would not now be available until after 2030 (when it would be included in the spending review after next). Additional schemes (including the ‘RAAC’ hospitals) were added to the Programme and prioritised for earlier funding. All schemes in the New Hospital Programme - including ours – were still to be funded to progress to final business case approval and to support enabling works.

Following the 2024 general election, the Government announced it was conducting a review into the New Hospital Programme to ensure there is a realistic and costed timetable for delivery.