Kettering General Hospital rebuild plan delayed by almost a decade
The Health Secretary says work will now begin between 2028 to 2032, due to lack of funding that Labour blame on the previous Conservative government.
Last updated 21st Jan 2025
The health secretary's told MPs it'll take at least a decade longer than planned to complete a hospital building programme launched by the previous government.
Wes Streeting says projects will now proceed in "waves" - including at Kettering General which is in Wave Two scheduled to begin now between 2030 and 2035.
The New Hospitals Programme, announced by Boris Johnson in 2020, promised ‘40 new hospitals’ but was delayed by years and not a single new hospital had been constructed by the time the Conservatives left office.
A review of the programme, which includes the rebuild of Kettering General Hospital, was announced by Labour after the election in order to provide a realistic and affordable timetable for delivery and to give patients an honest, realistic, deliverable timetable that they can believe in.
Labour say that since coming into power they found that the funding for the programme was shockingly due to run out in March 2025.
In Parliament Monday 20 January, Wes Streeting, Labour’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, confirmed that pre-construction work at Kettering General Hospital will begin from 2028 to 2030 with construction starting in 2031 to 2032.
Kettering MP Rosie Wrighting
MP for Kettering Rosie Wrighting has today slammed ‘the legacy of empty Tory promises for residents in Kettering’.
Rosie, who has persistently raised the Kettering General Hospital rebuild with the Government since being elected, said: “Years of false promises for people in Kettering is the unforgivable legacy left by the Tories. Time and time again they led us up the garden path, raising expectations that we could expect a new hospital overnight when the money simply wasn’t there.
“We all know how important Kettering General Hospital is for our community and that's why local residents, staff and patients expect an honest, realistic and deliverable timetable. I’m relieved that is what the Government has given us today.
“I will continue to campaign for Kettering General Hospital at every opportunity and keep local residents updated on the progress of the programme every step of the way.”
Wes Streeting, Labour’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said:
“The New Hospital Programme we inherited was unfunded and undeliverable. Not a single new hospital was built in the past five years, and there was no credible plan to build forty in the next five years.
“When I walked into the Department of Health and Social Care, I was told that the funding for the New Hospitals Programme runs out in March. We were determined to put the programme on a firm footing, so we can build the new hospitals our NHS needs.
“Today we are setting out an honest, funded, and deliverable programme to rebuild our NHS. I am committed to delivering Kettering General Hospital and to rebuilding our NHS.”
What does the hospital say?
In a statement Laura Churchward, the Chief Executive of University Hospitals of Northamptonshire said:
"While we understand the New Hospitals Programme must be affordable, we are disappointed by yesterday’s decision to delay the next steps in our development programme until 2029/2030. This delay poses a significant challenge to our plans and the delivery of much-needed improvements for the patients and communities we serve.
Capital investment in infrastructure is vital to the health and wellbeing of people in Kettering. While we await further details, we remain steadfast in our commitment to progress. We will continue to build our new Energy Centre by 2027, driving forward the transformation that our hospital needs along with moving ahead on our plans to address the RAAC concrete in our Women’s and Children's unit."