Kettering General Hospital rebuild in balance as project confirmed to be on government review list as 'New Hospital Programme' scrutinises 25 promised plans

The future of the ‘promised’ rebuild of KGH now rests with a panel of senior Whitehall officials from the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and HM Treasury.

So far KGH has only managed to secure funding for the energy centre needed to replace the temporary generators currently supplying the buildings.

The hospital has been named as one of the 25 ‘in scope’ New Hospital Programme schemes to be scrutinised.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves had already announced the former Conservative Government’s pledge to build 40 ‘new’ hospitals by 2030 – a pledge which included the KGH rebuild – was now under review.

Ms Reeves, when visiting Kettering during the General Election campaign, told the Northants Telegraph she knew the importance of the KGH project.

In a war of words between the rival political parties, former Conservative MP for Kettering Philip Hollobone had claimed Labour would pause or potentially even not proceed with the rebuild if Labour won the General Election.

The future chancellor had said: “What a load of rubbish. We’ve committed to the rebuild of Kettering General Hospital.

“I know how important it is. I’ve been to Kettering General Hospital when family members of mine have been poorly to see them so I know how important it is to the local area and we are absolutely committed to getting on and delivering the hospital that we need here in Kettering.”

The latest document states the review, jointly requested by Rachel Reeves and Wes Streeting, the secretary of state for health and social care, aims to consider the options for putting the New Hospital Programme onto a ‘realistic, deliverable and affordable footing’.

KGH is one of the 25 ‘in scope’ projects without full business case approvals for their main build phase.

The government document says: “The review will present a full range of options to be taken forward for the overall size and ambition of the programme to provide a clear approach for the programme going forward.”

Findings of the review will be used to make decisions ‘in the round’ – choosing schemes in the ‘context of overall constraints to hospital building’ and ‘wider health infrastructure priorities’.

Key data will be collated for each of the hospitals including criteria around clinical outcomes, deliverability, cost and estate condition.

Data will be drawn from existing sources where possible but if the information is not held, or not up to date, further data may be requested from NHS trusts or regional teams.

The hospitals will then be prioritised according to the criteria. Options and recommendations will then be given to ministers to consider.

When first elected, Rosie Wrighting, the new Labour MP for Kettering, prioritised visiting KGH in her first week saying she was ‘desperate’ to see the £620m rebuild take place.

Earlier this month, Polly Grimmett, director of strategy at the KGH NHS Foundation Trust, updated the North Northamptonshire Council health scrutiny committee on the rebuild.

She confirmed the rebuild of Kettering General Hospital (KGH) would not be complete by the previous Government's 2030 deadline.

A dozen hospitals have been given the go-ahead because their business cases have already been approved or they have a large amount of RAAC – reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete – that needs to be removed. KGH has RAAC in some maternity wards but not enough to warrant automatic rebuild status.

Other hospitals on the ‘in scope’ list are Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital, Derriford Emergency Care Hospital, Eastbourne District General, Hampshire Hospitals, Hillingdon Hospital, Leeds General Infirmary, Leicester General Hospital, Milton Keynes Hospital, Musgrove Park Hospital, North Devon District Hospital, North Manchester General Hospital, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Queen’s Medical Centre Nottingham, Royal Berkshire Hospital, Royal Lancaster Infirmary, Royal Preston Hospital, Shotley Bridge Community Hospital, Durham, Specialist Emergency Care Hospital Sutton, St Mary’s Hospital London, Torbay Hospital , Watford General Hospital, Whipps Cross University Hospital, and the Women and Children’s Hospital, Cornwall.