£1.8 billion for NHS frontline services

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new £1.8 billion NHS cash injection to help improve patient care at hospitals across the country.

The £1.8 billion investment will deliver more beds, new cutting-edge equipment and additional wards at 20 hospitals in need of upgraded facilities and equipment (£850 million). A further £1 billion is also being pledged to boost to NHS capital spending, allowing existing upgrade programmes to proceed and tackling the most urgent infrastructure projects.

The 20 hospitals pledge was one of the first made after Johnson became Prime Minister. The government says that the £1.8 billion funding is in addition to the extra £33.9 billion, in cash terms, the NHS is set to receive every year by 2023/24 through the Long Term Plan agreed last year.

Speaking at a Lincolnshire hospital, Johnson will say: “The NHS is always there for us – free at the point of use for everyone in the country. With our doctors and nurses working tirelessly day in day out, this treasured institution truly showcases the very best of Britain. That’s why I made it my immediate task to make sure frontline services have the funding they need, to make a real difference to the lives of NHS staff, and above all, of patients.

“Today I’m delivering on this promise with a £1.8 billion cash injection – meaning more beds, new wards, and extra life-saving equipment to ensure patients continue to receive world-class care. It’s time to face up to this challenge and make sure the NHS receives the funds it needs, to continue being the best healthcare service in the world.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “I love the NHS - and so do the millions of taxpayers and their families cared for by our NHS every month. We owe it to them to make sure they can get the best treatment in the best hospitals.

“On top of the extra £33.9 billion a year we are giving the NHS, today we are making a downpayment for the future of NHS buildings and facilities, with a £1.8 billion fund to revitalise our hospitals and immediate funding for bigger wards, better mental health units, and state of the art children’s hospitals in areas that need them the most. This is just the start of our Health Infrastructure Plan, with patients set to see and feel the benefits for years to come.”

The 20 hospital projects to be funded by the upgrade programme being announced by Boris Johnson are: Luton and Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust; NHS South Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group; University Hospitals Birmingham; United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust; Wye Valley NHS Trust; University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust; Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge CCGs and North East London NHS Foundation Trust; Croydon Health Services NHS Trust; South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System; Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust; Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust; Stockport NHS Foundation Trust; NHS Wirral CCG; Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust; Isle of Wight NHS Trust; and Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust.