Decade long delays to rebuilding hospitals across East Midlands will be demoralising for NHS staff say union
The East Midlands head of health at the UK’s largest union in the sector says delays to fixing up hospitals is having an impact on NHS staff morale
Last updated 22nd Jan 2025
It's thought decade long delays to rebuilding hospitals across the East Midlands will be demoralising for NHS staff who are said to be already feeling undervalued, and underpaid.
The Health Secretary has been setting out a new timetable, to deliver four major hospital building projects in the Midlands as part of the New Hospital Programme (NHP).
Gareth Eales, the Head of Health for the East Midlands at Unison - the UK’s largest union in the sector - shared with us his thoughts:
"Whether you or your listeners have ever been admitted to any of these hospitals that we're talking about, you'll know and you'll see that desperation for modernisation. A lick of paint here and there, or a new door is not going to deliver, the much needed modern technology and the adequate facilities that we need in this region and across the NHS.
"And our Members you know, they see it day-to-day, they see that these sites are in disrepair. They're not fit for purpose anymore.
"It's demoralising, obviously. I mean, you know, I think it's well documented the stress and the pressure, that people who work in the NHS, are under. You've only got to look at staff survey results and the feedback we get day-to-day from our members; they do feel undervalued, certainly underpaid and this will be another kick in the teeth for them. They will feel disappointed that their workplaces, the areas where they care for patients is not being brought up to modern day standards quicker.
"So it is desperately needed to get these hospitals modernised. Looking at the state of the public finances... it's this announcement not a massive surprise, but it doesn't make it any less disappointing.
"If you look at where the hospitals that we're talking are now sit in terms of the revised timetable, Queens Medical Centre and City Hospital in Nottingham, you know the earliest that work will start in those hospitals is in a decade, yet those hospitals have got, one of the highest, if not the highest, ongoing repair and maintenance bill. So the impact that's going to have in the short term on the Trust that are already strapped for cash is going to be massive."
This timeline for delivery is said to will that staff and patients have access to the facilities they desperately need around the country as soon as possible.
It follows a review of the scheme which found that the previous government's commitment to deliver '40 new hospitals' by 2030 was behind schedule, unfunded and therefore undeliverable.
In its annual report, published last week, the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) also deemed the previous scheme 'unachievable', rating the programme as red and highlighting major issues including with the schedule and budget.
"We are setting out an honest, funded, and deliverable programme"
An independent IPA review upgraded the New Hospitals Programme from a red to amber rating last week, thanks to action taken to improve deliverability.
Wes Streeting, Health and Social Care Secretary, said:
"The New Hospital Programme we inherited was unfunded and undeliverable. Not a single new hospital was built in the past five years, and there was no credible funding plan to build forty in the next five years.
"When I walked into the Department of Health and Social Care, I was told that the funding for the New Hospitals Programme runs out in March. We were determined to put the programme on a firm footing, so we can build the new hospitals our NHS needs.
"Today we are setting out an honest, funded, and deliverable programme which confirms the construction of four major hospital projects across the Midlands, including rebuilding work at two Nottingham hospitals, and major improvements to Kettering General Hospital.”
The new plan will be backed with £15 billion of new investment over consecutive five-year waves, averaging £3 billion a year.
The schemes in the Midlands include:
Wave 0 (already in construction):
- National Rehabilitation Centre, Nottinghamshire
Wave 2 (construction 2030-2035):
- University Hospitals Leicester
- Kettering General Hospital
Wave 3 (construction 2035-2039):
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Morag Stuart, Chief Programme Officer for the New Hospital Programme, said:
"This announcement by the Department of Health and Social Care provides certainty on the next steps for the New Hospital Programme.
"We will continue to work with local NHS organisations to deliver improvements to hospitals across England, including making best use of new technology and improving layouts – and ensure future hospitals are designed to meet the needs of patients and staff."
Hospital leaders described the announcement as a "major blow", saying many hospitals are already in poor condition and might not last into the 2030s or 2040s.
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said: "Trusts who are part of the New Hospital Programme account for more than 40% (£5.7 billion) of the total bill for backlog repairs and maintenance.
"Today's announcement will make a difficult situation even more challenging."
Anthony May, Chief Executive of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
“Whilst we welcome the government’s ongoing commitment to Tomorrow’s NUH (TNUH), we are very disappointed that the review of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) announced today means significant delays to the TNUH scheme. This will not only considerably impact our patients and staff for the coming years but will also have a huge impact on our wider communities across the region.
“This will mean a significant delay to building a new Centre for Women, Children and Families for Nottingham. Our cancer patients will have to wait an additional decade to receive treatment in a bespoke Cancer Care building. Nottingham will continue to be one of the only acute hospitals in the country without a Helipad. And we will not be able to build the much-anticipated multi-storey car parks at NUH for many years.
“With one of the largest reported maintenance backlogs in the country (amounting to £439m), the NHP investment is desperately needed, and sooner rather than later, as the current condition of our estate limits our ability to provide the environment that our patients and staff deserve. Our Tomorrow’s NUH programme will be a significant solution to these issues, as well as being a catalyst for wider change within the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire region.
“We need to fully understand the implications of today’s announcement and will be working with NHP over the coming days and weeks to confirm what this means in terms of the different phases of the Tomorrow’s NUH programme.”
Meanwhile, Richard Mitchell, Chief Executive of the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: “While we recognise the financial challenges, we are clearly disappointed by this most recent decision to delay critical and long-awaited investment in healthcare for the people of Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland.
“It is too soon to fully understand the impact on our local plans, however we are determined to deliver the transformation our hospitals desperately need and that our communities and colleagues deserve. We will work closely with local and national partners to achieve this.
"We are clearly disappointed by this most recent decision to delay critical and long-awaited investment in healthcare
“In the meantime, we continue to transform patient care and the working experience for colleagues. We recently opened the East Midlands Planned Care Centre, a £48m investment providing 100,000 appointments a year to reduce waiting times. A new endoscopy unit will open at the Leicester General Hospital this year, the Hinckley Diagnostic Centre will provide 89,000 community diagnostic tests a year when it opens in the spring, and significant investment in the expansion of the Leicester Diabetes Centre will boost diabetes research.”
The New Hospital Programme is believed to be just one part of the government's wider commitment to transforming the NHS estate. Over £1 billion has been set aside to make inroads into the existing backlog of critical maintenance, repairs and upgrades, while £102 million has been dedicated for upgrades to GP surgeries across England as a first step towards transforming the primary care estate.