£184m loan funding for urgent hospital upgrades

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has approved £184 million of capital loan funding to go towards some of the most urgent hospital upgrades to protect vital frontline patient care.

Following the approval of over £70 million in loans for NHS trusts by the Health Secretary in September, the funding will be shared with 13 trusts in England, including: £26 million to upgrade IT, replace medical equipment and fund critical upgrades at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; £11 million to replace two existing theatres in the main block at Queen’s Hospital Burton, part of  University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust; and £21 million to replace equipment, including defibrillators and CT scanners and imaging, as well as funding radiology, endoscopy and nephrology departments at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Hancock said: “These loans will make sure hospitals continue to deliver vital services to patients in buildings that are safe and have the right equipment to deliver world-class care. Since July, we have injected £4.8 billion capital funding into the NHS – helping refurbish hospital wards, replace old medical equipment and maintain NHS buildings.”

Since July, the government has committed £4.8 billion in additional capital funding to build over 40 new hospitals, upgrade existing buildings, and provide facilities with state-of-the-art technology and equipment. However, questions have been raised over how much of this is new money.