New map shows the location of 116 new hospitals and 188 new primary care facilities.

On the same day another seven PFI schemes move a major step closer to opening

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt today launched a map illustrating for the first time the massive investment in the fabric of the NHS. This map shows how communities in every region of the country has benefited from the new hospitals, GP surgeries, health centres and clinics which have opened since 1997.

All regions of the country have had new facilities open as part of the £10.6 billion investment, with deprived communities having seen the greatest transformation in their services. A total of 116 new hospitals and 188 primary care facilities, have either been constructed or are in the pipeline, benefiting the thousands of patients who come through their doors every day

Launching the map, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said:

"This map clearly illustrates that the NHS is opening hospitals, not closing them. These developments represent our commitment to the biggest hospital building programme in the history of the NHS. We have already exceeded the target in the NHS Plan of building 100 new hospitals. Combined with the new surgeries, health centres and clinics, this Government has changed the face of the NHS today and laid firm foundations for the NHS for the next fifty years.

"What this means for patients today is that in addition to being treated in bright, modern facilities, they are also being seen more quickly and helping us to reach the 18 week waiting time target by the end of 2008."

Highlighted on the map are seven new PFI hospitals, worth around £1.5 billion which have today passed Government checks on affordability and value for money, and move a major step closer to opening their doors to patients.

PFI schemes at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Bristol North and South Gloucester PCTs, Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, Peterborough NHS Trust, North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, Mid Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust and Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, have all met the requirements of the Department's reappraisal exercise:

This go-ahead means that the NHS in these areas will now develop business cases for the new hospital buildings for Treasury and Ministerial approval before starting construction work.

Mixed sex wards are among the outdated facilities planned for replacement. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust's plans include a 512 bed new hospital with A&E, which will replace Nightingale Wards at two old hospitals with single en-suite rooms.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said:

"Finding a way forward for each of these seven new hospital schemes is great news for patients in all of these areas. These facilities are replacing inadequate and outdated hospitals across the country.

The new hospital buildings receiving the go-ahead are:

• Bristol North and South Gloucester PCTs - a new £310 million, 830 bed hospital combining the specialist and acute service currently provided on the Frenchay and Southmead District General Hospital sites. The development replaces pre-war and converted World War II huts and will include a new A&E, critical care facilities.
• Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust - a new £78 million hospital on the St Luke's site, replacing the 106 year-old building. The development will include 312 beds, 58 more than the existing hospital, and facilities for adult and older peoples' mental health services.
• Peterborough Hospitals NHS Trust - a new 612 bed hospital on the Edith Cavell site. The £282 million development will deliver general and specialist outpatient services, day surgery, elective and emergency services, diagnostics, cancer and therapy services
• Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust - a new hospital with A&E, day case facilities, women and children's centre, and medical test facilities. The £225 million, 512 bed hospital replaces two old hospital buildings, some parts of which dated from the Crimean War.
• Mid Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust - the £343 million scheme will replace outdated buildings at both Pinderfields General Hospital in Wakefield and Pontefract General Infirmary. The accommodation in the new buildings will provide around 50 per cent single rooms. Nightingale wards and other outdated hospital facilities will be replaced.
• Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust - new facilities will include a new A&E department, day unit, theatres and a maternity unit. The £143 million project will unite a special care baby unit and maternity unit, which are currently split across two sites.
• North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust - the new development will provide 150 beds in purpose built accommodation. The £111 million scheme will provide a single acute district hospital, eliminating Edwardian-era Nightingale wards currently situated across sites.

The first new hospital buildings are expected to open from 2008.

NHS LIFT and PFI developments are just part of the Government's drive to modernise local NHS facilities. Over 625 new one-stop primary care centres have been created since 2001, including those built under NHS LIFT. This will rise to 750 by the end of 2008. Since 2001, around 3,000 GP surgeries - almost one third of all surgeries - have been substantially refurbished or replaced.

NOTES TO EDITORS
The maps show the new hospitals (including those built through PFI) and Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) schemes down to SHA and PCT level, that have been built since 1997 and can be found at http://www.dh.gov.uk from 00.01 Tuesday 27th February or on request from DH media centre.

The total value of the programmes are £9.4billion for hospital buildings and £1.2billion for LIFT.

There are 109 LIFT schemes open and 79 schemes under construction. There are 84 new hospitals currently in operation, with 25 under construction and 7 PFI schemes which have passed affordability tests today.

The seven PFI schemes reviewed are now locally affordable and can continue to the next formal approval stage.

The overall purpose of the reviews has been to ensure that only schemes which meet the following two conditions are allowed to proceed:

• They are configured in the most financially cost-effective way possible
• They are financially sustainable over the long-term

To develop an effective understanding of how well the schemes satisfied these conditions, their ability to respond to the following changes to NHS operational and financial environment were considered:

• Choice
• Plurality
• The recent white paper, 'Our Health, Our Care, Our Say'

The approval is subject to the trust presenting a business case that demonstrates the scheme is affordable to it and its wider health economy, that it reflects latest service configuration plans and the trust will be in run-rate balance during the financial year 2007/08.

It is intended that reviews of the remaining schemes that have engaged with the market will be completed in the autumn.

The schemes referred back to the local economies require further work. This is not a judgement on their viability, simply that identifying the right solution will take time and it is right that this process should take place.

The approval is subject to the trust presenting a business case that demonstrates the scheme is affordable to it and its wider health economy, that it reflects latest service configuration plans and the trust will be in run-rate balance during the financial year 2007/08.

Peterborough is a foundation trust and it will also need to satisfy Monitor as to its affordability.

For media enquiries and copies of the maps please call Sophie Coppel on 020 7210 5669 or Stuart McFadyen on 020 7210 5416. For PFI related media enquiries please call Matthew Ward on 020 7210 5222.