Broken pledge over 40 new hospitals will leave NHS ‘crumbling’, ministers told

Health experts and MPs criticise Steve Barclay’s delays to some projects and failure to offer sufficient funding

Ministers have admitted eight of the “40 new hospitals” they pledged to build by 2030 will be delayed into the next decade, sparking claims of another broken promise that will leave the NHS in England “crumbling” and damage patient care.

Long-planned new facilities in London, Sussex, Lancashire and other parts of England, to replace hospitals that in one case date back to the 1850s, have been downgraded by Steve Barclay.