The UK Government has allocated £750m ($1.01bn) for essential maintenance across over 400 NHS hospitals, mental health units, and ambulance sites in England.
This investment aims to address long-standing infrastructure issues, such as deteriorating ventilation, leaky pipes, and electrical problems, which have led to thousands of cancelled operations and appointments.
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The move is part of the government’s broader initiative, the Plan for Change, which seeks to overhaul the deteriorating state of public service infrastructure.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Patients and staff deserve to be in buildings that are safe, comfortable and fit for purpose. Through our Plan for Change, we will make our NHS fit for the future.”
By addressing the maintenance backlog within NHS hospitals, the government anticipates a reduction in service disruptions, which affected operations over 4,000 times in the 2023 to 2024 period.
A significant portion of the investment, more than £100m, is earmarked for maternity units to enhance the care provided to mothers and newborns.
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By GlobalDataThis includes critical updates like modernising outdated ventilation systems in neonatal intensive care units, ensuring optimal conditions for vulnerable infants and their families.
The package was confirmed in the previous year’s Autumn Budget, which secured an additional £26bn for the NHS.
The government has already surpassed its goal of facilitating three million extra NHS appointments from last June, and is modernising over 1,000 GP surgeries to increase annual appointments by 8.3 million.
Investments have also been made in new medical technology, such as 13 DEXA scanners for an additional 29,000 bone scans, and £70m in radiotherapy machines, which are expected to provide up to 27,500 extra treatments annually by March 2027.
The projects are scheduled for the 2025 to 2026 fiscal year, with the first upgrades set to commence this summer.
The government recently announced a new NHS programme to promote safer maternity care and prevent brain injuries during childbirth.
