Hospital rebuild costs set to exceed £1.4bn

Plans to rebuild Leeds General Infirmary were first put forward in 2018

The cost of a major redevelopment of Leeds General Infirmary has risen to more than £1.4bn, according to trust documents.

Papers published by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) suggest the cost of building work has more than doubled from initial estimates of around £600m.

The project had been due to be carried out under the former Conservative government's plans to create 40 hospitals by 2030, but were put in doubt when Labour launched a review of the programme.

LTHT chief executive Prof Phil Wood said rebuilding the hospital was now "critical", with the cost of backlogged repairs to the ageing estate estimated at over £630m.

NHS trust chief Prof Phil Wood said rebuilding Leeds General Infirmary was "critical"

Parts of the city centre hospital date back more than 150 years, with the worst areas no longer used by patients due to leaking ceilings and crumbling walls.

Plans for a new “state-of-the-art” hospital building were first announced in 2018 and later brought under the previous government’s New Hospitals Programme (NHP).

The proposals include a new children’s hospital, a new adult hospital and a maternity centre, as well as wider plans to develop a “Leeds Innovation Village” that would attract research and jobs.

Outline planning consent was granted in 2020 and bulldozers finished clearing the site at the old nurses’ home in 2022, but work was unable to continue without official approval from the NHP and previous government.

Following Labour's election win the NHP was put under review and, last week, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that while some projects could continue 25 others, including Leeds, would be reviewed to check it was “realistic, deliverable and affordable”.

According to the board papers, between £250m and £300m of the increase has been put down to delays “outside of the trust’s direct control”.

The trust has also said existing outline planning consent was due to “expire soon”, which it said would lead to further delays and increased costs.

Prof Wood said it was “absolutely critical” the redevelopment plans were given the go-ahead.

“It’s been very frustrating to have that length of delay, partly because the opportunities the new build will give the region in terms of healthcare are immense,” he said.

“I think there’s also the costs we’re having to incur on our old estate and also keeping staff motivated to feel that they’ve got a new hospital coming remains a challenge.”

Parts of the hospital are no longer used by patients due to leaking ceilings and crumbling walls

LTHT board papers state the trust is “confident” it has one of the “most advanced” and “ready-to-go” schemes but it cannot move to the next stage until the outcome of the review.

Prof Wood said: “I’m still optimistic Leeds will have a new children’s hospital, a new maternity facility and a new adult facility.

“It will be several years later than we’d all have hoped for - but we’ll continue to work with regional and national colleagues to make a success of it because it’s the right thing to do for the patients of this part of the United Kingdom."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said the NHP it inherited was "undeliverable and unfunded" and it was working to put it on a "sustainable footing".

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