New Hospital Programme review: terms of reference
Updated 8 November 2024
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-terms-of-reference/new-hospital-programme-review-terms-of-reference
Purpose
The review aims to consider the options for putting the New Hospital Programme onto a realistic, deliverable and affordable footing. The review has been requested by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and will be jointly led and resourced across the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and HM Treasury (HMT).
Governance and arrangements
The review will be led by the Director for Delivery, Performance and Assurance in the DHSC New Hospital Programme sponsor team, along with senior colleagues from the NHS England delivery team and HMT. A steering group, including representation from HMT, Cabinet Office and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), will be convened to oversee the review, directed by the senior responsible owner for the New Hospital Programme, the Chief Financial Officer in NHS England, the Director General for Finance in DHSC and senior officials in HMT, reporting to the Permanent Secretary of DHSC. The review will conclude as soon as possible and will be submitted to the Secretary of State for DHSC and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for consideration.
Scope of the review
The review will assess the appropriate schedule for delivery for schemes in the New Hospital Programme in the context of overall constraints to hospital building and wider health infrastructure priorities, while also looking at where improvements can be made. Out of scope will be schemes that have approved full business cases, and any associated phases that have specific commitments. The review assumes these will continue to their current delivery timelines. Also out of scope will be the critical 7 hospitals with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which will proceed at pace due to the substantive safety risks associated with these.
In scope will be all remaining hospitals in the New Hospital Programme without full business case approvals for their main build phase. The review will present a full range of options to be taken forward for the overall size and ambition of the programme to provide a clear approach for the programme going forward.
The review will feed into the spending review process, where decisions on the outcome will be taken in the round and the government will confirm the outcome of the review as part of that process.
Approach to the review
Key data will be collated for each of the hospitals falling within the scope of the review, including criteria around clinical outcomes, deliverability, cost and estate condition. Data will be drawn from existing sources where possible. Where the information is not held, or not up to date, further data may be requested from NHS trusts or regional teams.
The hospitals in scope will be prioritised according to the criteria. The review will look at the possible timelines for delivery for each scheme, along with clinical considerations, risk and cost profiles and present a range of options to be taken forward. Options and recommendations for phasing of the programme will then be established for ministers to consider.
The recommended options for scope, size and phasing will be supported by confirmation of the optimum approach for delivery, underpinning clinical assumptions and the associated commercial strategy.
Deliverables
The review will conclude as soon as possible, with a series of options agreed by officials in DHSC, NHS England, IPA and HMT.
List of schemes in and out of scope of the review
In scope of the review
| Scheme name | Trust |
|---|---|
| Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital | Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
| Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital, north-west London | Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust |
| Derriford Emergency Care Hospital, Plymouth | University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust |
| Eastbourne District General, Conquest Hospital and Bexhill Community Hospital | East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust |
| Hampshire Hospitals | Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
| Hillingdon Hospital, north-west London | The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
| Kettering General Hospital | Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
| Leeds General Infirmary | Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust |
| Leicester Royal Infirmary and Glenfield Hospital | University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust |
| Milton Keynes Hospital | Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
| Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton | Somerset NHS Foundation Trust |
| North Devon District Hospital, Barnstaple | Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust |
| North Manchester General Hospital | Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust |
| Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow | The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust |
| Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) and Nottingham City Hospital | Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust |
| Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading | Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust |
| Royal Lancaster Infirmary | University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust |
| Royal Preston Hospital | Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
| Shotley Bridge Community Hospital, Durham | County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust |
| Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, Sutton | Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust |
| St Mary’s Hospital, north-west London | Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust |
| Torbay Hospital | Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust |
| Watford General Hospital | West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust |
| Whipps Cross University Hospital, north-east London | Barts Health NHS Trust |
| Women and Children’s Hospital, Cornwall | Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust |
Out of scope of the review
Where a scheme name is followed by “(RAAC)”, below, this indicates hospital schemes with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which will proceed at pace due to the substantive safety risks associated with these.
| Scheme name | Trust |
|---|---|
| Airedale General Hospital (RAAC) | Airedale NHS Foundation Trust |
| Alumhurst Road Children’s Mental Health Unit, Dorset | Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust |
| Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester | Dorset County Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
| Frimley Park Hospital (RAAC) | Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust |
| Hinchingbrooke Hospital (RAAC) | North-West Anglia Foundation Trust |
| James Paget Hospital, Great Yarmouth (RAAC) | James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
| Leighton Hospital (RAAC) | Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
| Poole Hospital, Dorset | University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust |
| Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn (RAAC) | Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust |
| Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Dorset | University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust |
| St Ann’s Hospital, Dorset | Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust |
| West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds (RAAC) | West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust |
Out of scope - to be completed
The 4 hospital schemes below are out of scope of the review and will continue to be supported to complete main construction or any remaining phases. Note that these hospital schemes were in the later stages of development prior to the New Hospital Programme being announced - this government does not therefore consider them to have been wholly delivered by the programme.
| Scheme name | Trust |
|---|---|
| Brighton 3Ts Hospital (remaining phases to continue to completion) | University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust |
| CEDAR Programme (remaining phases to continue to completion) | Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust |
| National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) (In construction – will continue to completion) | Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust |
| Oriel Eye Hospital (In construction – will continue to completion) | Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
Out of scope - completed
The 5 hospital schemes below have completed construction and are either open to patients or soon to be open to patients. Note that, with the exception of the Dyson Cancer Centre in Bath, these hospital schemes were in the later stages of development prior to the New Hospital Programme being announced - this government does not therefore consider them to have been wholly delivered by the programme.
| Scheme name | Trust |
|---|---|
| Dyson Cancer Centre, Bath | Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Foundation Trust |
| Greater Manchester Major Trauma Hospital (GMMTH) | Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust |
| Midland Metropolitan University Hospital | Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
| Northern Centre for Cancer Care | North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust |
| Royal Liverpool Hospital | Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |