No new London hospitals until at least 2027

Two new London hospitals will not open until 2027 at the earliest, the BBC has been told.

In 2019, the government pledged to build a new hospital in Sutton and another at Whipps Cross in east London.

The St Helier complex in Sutton in south London dates back to the 1930s and much of the Epsom site is about 40 years old.

The Department of Heath said it is committed to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030, backed by an initial £3.7bn.

But Dr Ruth Charlton, chief medical officer at Epsom and St Helier Hospital, said: "Our working conditions... are not fit for 21st century healthcare."

"We really feel that our patients and or staff deserve facilities that would allow them to deliver the quality of healthcare that we all wish to receive.

"We are working here from buildings, many of which predate the existence of the NHS.

"We are faced on a regular basis with issues that relate to water coming in to windows to floors that are not secure, foundations that are crumbling."

An intensive care unit at Epsom and St Helier Hospital has been forced to close due to airflow issues and is now being used as a storage room being kept cool by a small fan.

Each year of delay adds between £20m to £30m pounds to the project at Sutton. And for Whipps Cross that figure rises to between £50m and £100m.

The hospital trusts involved say they are not clear when they will receive any money, how much they might get, or when they can start work.

Teams are reportedly ready to go with the project but are in despair at the delays, the BBC understands.

"I would really like to be showing you around a place I'm proud of," says Dr Pauline Swift, a renal consultant at Epsom and St Helier Hospital.

"When I came here 16 years ago, I thought the hospital building was atrocious and I'm sorry to say it's got worse and worse in terms of its infrastructure.

"We've got lovely new dialysis machines but unfortunately we're providing the care in a really dilapidated environment and temporary air conditioning which is not great because this is Portakabin really, so in the summer it is punishingly hot."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We have committed to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030, backed by an initial £3.7bn.

"We are working closely with all the schemes in the programme and providing funding to develop their plans - final funding allocations are only confirmed once business cases have been fully reviewed and agreed.

"By taking a more centralised approach, we will reduce the overall time taken to build the hospitals and provide better value for money for the taxpayer."

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