Hospital funding announcement next week, BBC told

The BBC understands the government will make an announcement on hospital funding in England next week.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in July that a review would be carried out on hospital, road and rail projects as part of an attempt to plug a £22bn hole in public finances.

This includes hundreds of millions of pounds previously promised to London hospitals, including St Helier Hospital in Sutton.

A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the government planned to "rebuild our NHS".

St Helier Hospital had been told it would get new buildings as well as upgrades to existing ones, but staff have said this is yet to happen.

The hospital, which first opened its doors to patients in 1941, has been the subject of funding promises under a number of governments.

In 2003, Tony Blair's Labour announced a plan called Better Health Care Closer to Home.

In 2010, Tory George Osborne promised £200m towards funding new hospital schemes, including at St Helier Hospital.

In 2020, the government under Boris Johnson promised up to £500m to St Helier in the New Hospitals Programme.

Then in 2023, the BBC reported ministers aimed to have six hospitals ready for 2025 - one which was St Helier, part of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Dr Beccy Suckling, chief medical officer at the hospital, said the building had a series of problems including windows that won't close properly, leading to damp.

She said more than 600 operations had to be cancelled last year because of ventilation difficulties in the theatres.

Dr Suckling believes the age of the building - which was completed in 1942 - is the root cause of the problems.

Dr Pauline Swift, consultant nephrologist at St Helier Hospital, said the lifts often break down, creating more trouble for patients.

She also said she went to see a patient in a dialysis unit and the windows were boarded up because they had come out.

She added: "This is not a way to be looking after patients in the 21st Century."

The DHSC agreed that buildings and equipment across the NHS "have been left to crumble", disrupting care and hindering staff.

After coming to power, Labour said it would be looking at the feasibility of the future of 25 projects that were part of the New Hospital Programme in England, as promised by Conservative Boris Johnson when he was prime minister.

The DHSC said: "We inherited a New Hospital Programme which was unrealistic and unaffordable, with the funding due to run out in March 2025.

"We are working up a timeline that is affordable and honest."

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