It began with Boris Johnson, and his claim that 40 new NHS hospitals were built or on their way to completion.
To nobody’s surprise nobody thought it was real!
Here is Jeremy Corbyn in 2019 calling out the ’40 NHS hospitals lie.’
40 NHS hospitals
Filmmaker Peter Stefanovic called out Liz Truss when she rolled out the claims, during her VERY short lived time as PM.
In Aug 2022 he tweeted a video of her and wrote: “Jeez. Liz Truss has now jumped on Boris Johnson’s long since rubbished 40 “NEW” hospitals bandwagon! It’s just complete boll****! And she’s just promised to be “honest” with the public!”
Investigation
Now a BBC investigation has found that 33 of 40 supposed new hospitals originally promised by Boris Johnson’s government have yet to start work.
The investigation looked at the announcement from the Tories which the government is still pledged to carry out.
The National Audit Office has already said it has started a value for money review of the New Hospitals Programme.
However, the BBC found that only seven have started, with a deadline of 2030 for the scheme. In building terms that is not a long time, at all.
Only two hospitals are finished and open.
Of the six pledged to be completed by 2025 none has full planning permission or funding yet, the BBC report found.
Criticism
Dr Ruth Charlton chief medical officer of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, writing in the Guardian, said they have been left waiting for the promised new facility.
She wrote in the paper: “The reality is this: we, our patients and our staff cannot afford to wait any more. The longer these delays, the more money it costs us – and the more difficult it gets to keep our patients safe.
“Our patients and our staff deserve so much better than this current state – where wards are being shut down because the foundations are sinking, and floods and leaks are a certainty every winter. Every day we wait costs money, and each year we have to spend more and more on updating our old, rundown buildings, diverting scarce resources from the front line.
”And as far as I’m concerned, there’s no other option. We must progress our plans to build our new hospital and make improvements to our existing sites. Don’t let another 25 years go by – give us the go-ahead now.”
Related: Viral video gives facts on NHS pay rises Sunak doesn’t want you to know
