As part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, five NHS trusts across the east of England today confirmed they have signed contracts with building industry experts to drive forward their designs and plans as part of a new partnership model that seeks to kick start progress towards new hospital development.

The ‘Hospital 2.0 Alliance’ brings together NHS England, NHS Trusts and industry partners to work as one team – focused on delivering better hospitals for patients, staff and local communities. The Alliance supports a modern approach to designing and delivering hospitals that improves consistency, reduces delays and creates high-quality healthcare environments.

Initial partnerships have now been agreed with leading construction organisations, with the east of England seeing the most sites announced today, including four ‘RAAC-built’ hospitals at West Suffolk, Hinchingbrooke, James Paget and Queen Elizabeth Kings Lynn. The other trust signing their agreement in the region today is Milton Keynes.

Signing contracts with selected building partners is always a significant milestone in any development project so finalising five of the eleven agreements today is a real boost for the east of England and the ambitious projects each trust is keen to move forward to benefit local communities.

Simon Wood, NHS England’s Director of Strategy and Transformation in the east, said: “This is a great step forward for all of our hospitals in the first group of the Government’s New Hospital Programme. Having access to an appointed contractor and working alongside them to finalise the designs of the new sites should speed up the process from this point and optimise the designs, for the benefit of all patients who will be users of those hospitals in the future.”

Natalie Forrest, Chief Programme Officer, NHS England, said: “The Hospital 2.0 Alliance represents a new way of delivering major public infrastructure. By bringing together NHS organisations and industry as genuine partners, we are creating a collaborative model that combines national consistency with local leadership. Together, we are building the foundations for hospitals that are safer, more sustainable and better equipped to meet the needs of patients and staff for generations to come.”

Details for each site across the east of England are as follows:

• Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is partnering with Morgan Sindall Construction through the Hospital 2.0 Alliance to support delivery of its major new hospital development serving one of the UK’s fastest growing cities. The project aims to provide a modern, sustainable healthcare environment for future generations on the existing hospital site with maternity and children’s services alongside additional surgical capacity. The development forms a significant part of the Trust’s long-term strategy to respond to increasing demand for healthcare services driven by population growth in Milton Keynes and the surrounding area.
• West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is partnering with Dragados to deliver a replacement hospital on the adjacent Hardwick Manor site to replace its existing RAAC hospital. The new hospital has been developed through extensive engagement with staff, patients and the local community and will provide modern, digitally enabled healthcare facilities designed to meet the needs of future generations.
• North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust is partnering with Kier Construction to deliver a replacement hospital on the existing Hinchingbrooke site to replace the existing RAAC hospital. The new hospital will be located to link seamlessly with existing non-RAAC building including the Trust’s treatment centre and newly-constructed theatres block which is due to open in coming months. The new hospital will provide modern facilities for patients, visitors and staff, helping us deliver outstanding care in an environment designed around quality, innovation and sustainability.
• As part of the recently formed Norfolk and Waveney Hospitals Group, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn and James Paget University Hospitals have selected Skanska UK as the construction partner to build two new state-of-the-art hospitals in Norfolk, designed to transform how healthcare services are delivered. As RAAC hospitals, both Trusts have been prioritised by the government to be rebuilt and the new hospitals will be among the most modern and digitally advanced in Europe, designed to deliver outstanding care for communities for decades to come.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

About the New Hospital Programme (NHP)

The New Hospital Programme is one of the largest and most ambitious healthcare infrastructure initiatives in the UK, delivering a new generation of hospitals across England. It brings together a portfolio of schemes in multiple waves, ensuring a balanced pipeline of projects at different stages of development now and into the future.

Programme Scope

NHP is delivering a broad range of hospital projects, including:

• Entirely new hospitals
• Complete rebuilds of existing hospitals
• Major new hospital buildings on existing sites
• Significant refurbishments of current facilities
  These schemes span small specialist hospitals to major acute and teaching hospitals with over 1,000 beds.

Waves of Delivery

The programme is structured into four main delivery waves:

• Wave 0: Schemes already in construction
• Wave 1: Construction planned between 2025–2030 (including RAAC hospitals)
• Wave 2: Construction begins 2030–2035
• Wave 3: Construction begins 2035–2039
  This approach provides stability, supports market capacity, and enables continuous improvement across projects.