In most industries, construction delays are just a financial problem. They mean higher costs, missed deadlines and frustrated stakeholders. In healthcare, however, the consequences can have a more significant impact.
Every delay in delivering new clinical facilities doesn’t just push back the opening date; it affects patients awaiting treatment, staff who are already under immense pressure, and the Trust, which is trying to balance rising demand with shrinking budgets.
In short, when hospitals wait, so do patients.
The impact of construction delays on NHS Trusts
Vital services remain closed
A delayed clinical project means operating theatres, wards, or diagnostic facilities remain unavailable for longer than planned. This can leave Trusts struggling with bottlenecks in critical services such as scans and elective surgery, putting increased pressure on existing services and staff.
Clinical capacity is reduced
Every day a ward or theatre is delayed, fewer patients can be seen, diagnosed or treated. This means longer waiting lists and delayed interventions for patients. This can also have a wider impact for the NHS as a growing surgical backlog results in a more costly solution required to recover.
Patients wait longer for care
The knock-on effect of construction delays for patients is clear. Delays mean patients face increased waiting times for diagnoses, surgery, or even a bed. This can lead to poorer outcomes, delayed recovery, and, in some cases, more complex care is required by the time treatment can begin.
Increased pressure on staff
Overcrowded wards with limited bed space and fewer treatment rooms can put increased pressure on clinical staff. Instead of working in facilities that are designed to support them, doctors and nurses are stretched across inadequate working environments, which can have a significant negative impact on both efficiency and morale.
Financial impact
Every week of delays compounds costs, from extended temporary arrangements to rising fees for materials and contractors. This is money that could have been utilised elsewhere within the Trust's estate.
The scale of the challenge the NHS faces
As of the end of 2024, the NHS is currently grappling with a maintenance backlog of £13.8 billion, with much of the figure representing urgent high-risk repairs. This figure has likely increased due to the limited availability of capital funding and the increased pressure on individual Trusts to reduce overspending.
In recent years, resources have mainly been allocated to frontline services and daily operations, meaning estates budgets have not kept pace with demand. As a result, many trusts have had to delay planned works, allowing issues to worsen, which increases the eventual cost and time to repair. Without consistent and sustained investment, the backlog is likely to continue growing, placing further pressure on both NHS Trusts and their staff.
Delays to the New Hospital Programme
The Government’s New Hospital Programme (NHP), which originally aimed to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030, has already been pushed back. Projects are now being delivered in phased waves, stretching completion into the late 2030s.
For NHS Trusts, this means that much-needed upgrades and new facilities may still be years away, even as demand for services continues to rise. In the meantime, estates teams are left balancing growing patient need with ageing, overstretched infrastructure.
We’ve explored this in more detail in our blog on the New Hospital Programme delays, and what it means for the NHS’s ability to upgrade its healthcare estate.
What can NHS Trusts do now?
Despite the delays, NHS Trusts do not have to stand still. By choosing flexible, rapidly deliverable solutions, new clinical capacity can be implemented now, helping to ease the pressure on staff while reducing patient waiting times.
These facilities can offer permanent solutions on a temporary basis to act as a stopgap whilst Trusts wait for their long-term projects under the New Hospital Programme. This helps to ensure that staff and patients do not suffer the consequences of the delays, and Trusts can maintain momentum in delivering care, or in some cases speed it up.
ModuleCo Healthcare offers three flexible, finance-compliant options:
- Hire Agreements: Lease fully operational facilities for 1 to 15 years, covering design, installation, and maintenance. This approach provides a cost-effective, scalable way to tackle capacity challenges without upfront capital investment.
- Pulse (Usage-Based Revenue Agreement): Pay only for the facility when it's in use, aligning costs with actual demand. This model is IFRS16-compliant and doesn't impact Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (CDEL), offering a viable alternative to traditional procurement methods.
- Managed Service Agreements: Combine the full costs of the project, including design, enabling works, installation, and upkeep, into a single monthly fee. This comprehensive service ensures high-quality facilities with minimal disruption.
By acting now, Trusts can ensure patients do not have to wait longer than necessary for care. Flexible modular solutions available through Hire, Managed Service and Pulse solutions ensure clinical facilities can be accessed rapidly, easing pressure on staff and reducing waiting times.
This ensures patients benefit, staff are supported, and Trusts maintain momentum whilst waiting for their new hospitals under the New Hospital Programme.
