Delayed Kettering General Hospital rebuild given 2039 estimated opening date in new audit report

The Government’s reset, this time last year, put the plan to upgrade and build new hospitals, promised by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on a more ‘stable, long-term footing’.

As one of the ‘Wave 2’ hospitals, KGH’s rebuild cost has been estimated to be between £1bn and £1.5bn.

The report states: “Under the new plan, most hospitals are expected to open later than they were when we reported in 2023, reflecting Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)’s aim to put the programme on a more realistic footing. Some hospitals may open much later. For example, we estimate that Torbay, Kettering and Musgrove Park hospitals will open nine to ten years later than planned when we reported in 2023.”

The NAO, the independent public spending watchdog, has said standardised hospital designs could offer ‘potential savings’ and a ‘stronger market for contractors’, but these benefits depend on ‘robust programme oversight’.

A total of 41 hospital schemes are in the New Hospital Programme ranging from whole new buildings to major refurbishments, and will be carried out in four waves over the next 20 years.

An independent 2022 report recommended that the seven hospitals predominantly built from crumbling concrete known as RAAC should be replaced by 2030 at the latest.

The construction schedule over the next few years has been described as challenging and if early schemes fall behind, there are risks of delivery dates slipping, leading to budget pressures on later hospital waves including KGH.

KGH has been given written confirmation to continue with its planning for the main scheme and for ‘early enabling works’ that will need to take place before the main section of the rebuild can start.

This includes installing new electrical infrastructure and building a new energy centre for the hospital, which is currently reliant on a ‘very old’ steam-based generation.

Rosie Wrighting MP for Kettering which includes KGH in her constituency said: “There haven't been any changes to the timeline we set out last year, unlike the last government we have put the whole NHP on a clear and achievable timetable.

"The work on the energy centre is a clear example of how we are laying the ground work ahead of the scheme moving to construction.”

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, added: “The reset of the New Hospital Programme gives the department a firmer platform to deliver long‑term improvements and its ambition to transform hospital infrastructure has real potential provided designs are rigorously tested and programme delivery is well managed.”