On the 8 March 2006 the Department of Health (DOH) gave approval for the £1 billion redevelopment of the St Bartholomew’s and the Royal London Hospitals, the largest ever hospital PFI project in the UK. This is the second hospital PFI project to be approved in recent weeks.

Patricia Hewitt commented that: “This is an excellent deal for NHS patients in East London and beyond into the Thames Gateway…it delivers much needed extra-investment for health services in London under terms that represent real value for money for the taxpayer.”

DOH press release: "Go ahead for Barts and The Royal London"

Barts and The Royal London NHS Trust statement: "New hospitals get green light"

The DOH has reiterated its commitment to the hospital PFI programme.

The Secretary of State published guidance to help guide the NHS through the reform process on 26 January 2006. As part of this process, hospitals procuring or planning a major capital development, including PFI schemes, will be expected to take account of the current reforms to the NHS. Specifically in relation to PFI, the Secretary of State said:

“This process reaffirms our commitment to the Government’s investment programme for health. PFI will remain the major vehicle for delivering capital investment in acute services in the NHS. Even after completion of this reappraisal, we expect that the NHS will remain the largest single user of PFI in government, with a programme valued at an estimated £7–9 billion. Furthermore, the investment programme will be on a more sustainable footing and the delivery of that programme will continue at renewed pace.”

Full details of guidance

PFI in the NHS

Barts and the The Royal London hospitals will undergo a £1 billion redevelopment, the largest and most complex hospital development project in the country, which has been thirteen years in the planning.

The Royal London will become Britain’s biggest new hospital, providing general and specialist services to the population of the City, east London and beyond. Barts, Britain’s oldest hospital, will be refurbished, alongside a major new building, to create a Cancer and Cardiac Centre of Excellence. The new hospitals project is integral to wider plans for modernising health services across the City and east London, supported by state-of-the-art technology and facilities.

Commercial terms on the project were agreed on 9 December 2005. Prior to this, approval of the full business case for the project had been gained from the Trust Board and the North East London Strategic Health Authority, and primary care trusts both in north-east London and Essex had written in support of the business case. On 23 December the DOH questioned the single site solution and the inclusion of Barts in the project: “We have asked the Trust to reconsider its plans that the Barts and The Royal London scheme is both affordable and meets local needs. The Trust has been asked to consider further the inclusion of the Barts element within the scheme as part of this process.” A review was commissioned by the North East London Strategic Health Authority and reported on 31 January 2006 that it supported the Trust’s plans to provide cancer and cardiac services at Barts.

Project timeline

North East London Strategic Health Authority independent report on Barts Hospital redevelopment

Information about the hospital redevelopment plans from the St Bartholomew’s website

Tuesday 24 January: Debate on the future of St Bartholomew's Hospital inroduced by Mark Field:
Listen to the debate (go to "Today" then "Westminster Hall" to find details of how to purchase a copy of the debate)
Read a transcript

17th January: Early Day Motion on Bart’s tabled by Bob Spink MP