Region’s hospitals to get £140m boost

Hospitals across the region are set for major changes with almost £140m pledged to upgrade facilities as part of Boris Johnson’s £1.8bn cash boost for NHS frontline services.

University Hospitals Birmingham is to receive £97.1m to provide a new purpose-built hospital facility replacing outdated outpatient, treatment and diagnostic accommodation.

It is one of 20 hospital trusts set to share £850m of new funding to upgrade outdated facilities and equipment.

In the Wye Valley, £23.6m will be used to provide new hospital wards in Hereford, providing 72 beds, while University Hospitals of North Midlands will get £17.6m for three new modern wards to improve capacity in Stoke, delivering approximately 84 beds for this winter.

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: “This is a significant start to the much needed capital investment so that our nurses, doctors and other NHS staff will be able to care for their patients in modern facilities with state of the art equipment.

“The concrete steps being set out this week will mean investment flows directly to frontline services, providing new clinics and wards. As they come on line, as part of our NHS Long Term Plan, patients will benefit from reduced waits for treatment and wider upgrades to the quality of care the health service is able to offer.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “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 £1.8bn cash injection – meaning more beds, new wards, and extra life-saving equipment to ensure patients continue to receive world-class care.”