The New Hospital Programme (NHP) has formally signed long-term delivery agreements with construction partners for the first wave of hospitals being delivered through its Hospital 2.0 Alliance, marking a significant milestone as the programme moves from procurement into delivery.
The 11 partnerships bring together NHS trusts and contractors to deliver new hospitals across England using Hospital 2.0, the government's standardised approach to healthcare construction, which combines repeatable designs, digital delivery and modern methods of construction (MMC).
The first wave of projects, collectively valued at around £14bn, includes seven hospitals prioritised for replacement because of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), alongside four additional Wave 1 schemes.
The signed partnerships are:
RAAC-prioritised hospitals
- Graham Construction – Airedale General Hospital
- Sacyr UK – Frimley Park Hospital
- Kier Construction – Hinchingbrooke Hospital
- Skanska – James Paget University Hospital
- Integrated Health Projects (VINCI Building and Sir Robert McAlpine joint venture) – Leighton Hospital
- Skanska – The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn
- Willmott Dixon – Royal Cornwall Hospitals' Women and Children's Hospital
Other Wave 1 hospitals
- Dragados – West Suffolk Hospital
- Laing O'Rourke – Hillingdon Hospital
- Morgan Sindall Construction – Milton Keynes University Hospital
- Bovis Construction – North Manchester General Hospital
The agreements formally establish long-term delivery partnerships between NHS trusts and contractors, replacing traditional project-by-project procurement with a collaborative model intended to improve consistency, productivity and value for money across the programme.
Several of the projects form part of the government's accelerated reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) replacement programme, with Airedale, Frimley Park, Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn, Hinchingbrooke, James Paget, Leighton Hospital and the Royal Cornwall Women's and Children's Hospital all identified for replacement because of structural concerns linked to RAAC.
The contractors awarded the schemes are among those appointed earlier this year to the £37bn Hospital 2.0 Alliance framework, which was established to support the delivery of multiple hospitals through standardised design, manufacturing and construction processes.
Under the Hospital 2.0 model, NHS trusts will continue to lead the delivery of hospitals tailored to local clinical needs, while national standards and long-term contractor partnerships are intended to improve quality, encourage innovation and enable continuous improvement across the programme.
“For too long, the construction of new hospitals has been bogged down by bureaucratic procurement processes, even after full approval and funding was in place, and we're determined to change that," said Karin Smyth, Minister of State for Health.
"By bringing together NHS organisations and industry as genuine partners, we're creating a model that combines national consistency with local leadership. Together, we'll deliver hospitals that are safer, more sustainable and designed to meet the needs of patients and staff for generations to come," said Natalie Forrest, Chief Programme Officer for the New Hospital Programme.
"We are massively excited to be working with Royal Cornwall Hospitals' Women and Children's Hospital (RCHT), its clinical and programme teams, consultants and our New Hospital Programme partners on a scheme that will bring significant benefits to people across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly," said Anastasia Chrysafi, Principal Framework & Health Sector Manager at Willmott Dixon.
The agreements mark the formal start of delivery for the first wave of Hospital 2.0 schemes, with construction activity expected to increase from 2027 as the programme transitions from framework mobilisation into full project delivery.
Featured companies
- Companies:
- Sir Robert McAlpine
- Willmott Dixon
- NHS England
- Vinci Building UK (VINCI Construction Management Ltd)
- Graham Construction
- Morgan Sindall Construction
