Health Secretary spends £55,000 on virtual tours of 40 new hospitals not built
The Health Secretary has spent £55,000 on giving patients virtual reality tours of the promised 40 new hospitals as they haven’t actually been built.
Steve Barclay is putting on roadshows across the country to give the public the chance to put on headsets and pretend they’re getting treated in the new facilities. Labour warned that “patients in the real world” face being “treated in crumbling hospitals for years to come” because of the Government’s failings.
The Tories promised in their 2019 election manifesto that they would build “40 new hospitals” by 2030. Ministers have admitted some of the facilities included in the commitment will not be built from scratch and will just involve the refurbishment or alteration of existing buildings. But even this watered down pledge is now in doubt as Mr Barclay has been forced to admit eight of the original group will not be completed by the deadline. Different hospital works will now be counted as part of the programme.
The Mirror revealed in July that Mr Barclay had invited MPs to a “drop-in information event” in Parliament. In a letter, he wrote: "Using the virtual reality headsets, videos and models, you will be able to see the proposed design concepts for new hospitals." He said the virtual tours would include a “walk-through of the typical patient journey from clinical area to recovery”.
He added: “We will also be commencing a roadshow of events across England over the summer to bring these resources to staff, patients and other local stakeholders so that they can see the plans for themselves.”
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In response to a Freedom of Information request, the Department of Health and Social Care said it had spent £55,200 to develop and deliver virtual reality resources related to the New Hospital Programme.
Wes Streeting, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said: “While the Health Secretary is in his fantasy hospitals, patients in the real world will be treated in crumbling hospitals for years to come. Like the Conservatives’ plans to fix the NHS, the so-called ’40 new hospitals’ are still non-existent. Only Labour will restore the NHS to good health.”
The NHS waiting list currently stands at a record high as more than 7.7million people await treatment in England. Mr Barclay will address the Conservative Party conference on Tuesday.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We are committed to delivering 40 new hospitals by 2030, expected to be backed by over £20 billion of investment, with three already open and more due to open this year. Our innovative ‘Hospital 2.0’ approach will enable us to build high quality hospitals more quickly, with better value for money for the taxpayer, featuring single bedrooms which can reduce length of stay, improve infection control and boost use of bed capacity. Sharing designs through virtual reality with staff, patients and stakeholders gives us the opportunity to gather views and showcase what the new hospitals will look like.”
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