Project launched on building new hospitals post-coronavirus

A new project has been launched that will consider how the design and development of new hospitals in England should evolve to meet the needs of NHS patients, following the coronavirus pandemic.

Launched by Policy Exchange, with support from the Health Secretary Matt Hancock, the project commences with an open call for evidence, and will include primary evidence gathering, a literature review and a series of public events prior to the launch of the final report later in 2020.

Alongside considering the implications of new hospital building for clinical services, the project will examine the hospital as a lived environment. For example, how can new hospitals minimise carbon emissions, benefit from green space and natural light throughout, and be located in areas which encourage active forms of transportation such as walking and cycling for staff and visitors?

The Conservative Party has pledged to build and fund 40 new hospital projects over the next 10 years. If delivered, this would rank among the most significant increase in capacity seen in the NHS since the 1962 Hospital Plan, which established the current network of district general hospitals.

Polling shows that the coronavirus pandemic has led the public to prioritise hospital building far above other infrastructure projects in a list of priorities that includes new schools, woodlands and a £28.8 billion roads building programme. The poll also found that there is a generational divide in what the public wants from their hospital. While all age groups wanted friendly staff (51 per cent) and good food (48 per cent), younger respondents wanted to see more green spaces and natural light in the hospitals of the future, whereas older groups favoured ease of access.

Hancock said: "We are delivering on our commitment of building 40 new hospitals, and they must be designed for the future. They must help us deliver more integrated care, more person-centred care, and with all the benefits that we know well-designed attractive hospitals bring. I warmly welcome this call for evidence from Policy Exchange on how to make this happen and look forward to the recommendations from the review.”

Dean Godson, Director of Policy Exchange, said: “Coronavirus has brought about substantial change in how we use hospital facilities. In a matter of weeks, we have witnessed the redesign of A&E and triage services, a shift towards out of hospital care enabled by technology, and the assembly of Nightingale field hospitals to provide flexible capacity. The extent to which these changes in demand and use of services will endure remains very uncertain. At the same time, the pandemic has reignited key questions over how hospitals can be better integrated within other health and social care services in their area. Policy Exchange’s project will examine all this and the role that modern, beautifully built and designed, and green hospitals can play in improving healthcare delivered by the NHS.”