{"id":537903,"date":"2026-02-10T12:45:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=537903"},"modified":"2026-02-10T12:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:51:10","slug":"raac-hospitals-new-build-programme-constrained-by-market-capacity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/buildings\/raac-hospitals-new-build-programme-constrained-by-market-capacity-10-02-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"RAAC hospitals\u2019 new-build programme \u2018constrained\u2019 by market capacity"},"content":{"rendered":"

A shortfall in construction capacity has held back the government\u2019s attempts to remediate hospitals affected by dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a senior health department figure has admitted.<\/p>\n

The multibillion-pound programme to replace hospitals fitted with RAAC cannot move any faster without increasing costs, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard on Monday (9 February).<\/p>\n

In evidence to the PAC on the government\u2019s \u00a356bn New Hospital Programme (NHP), Elizabeth O\u2019Mahony, interim director for general finance at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), said the department\u2019s \u201cpreference\u201d would be to replace the hospitals affected by RAAC more quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the delivery speed is very much constrained by market capacity,\u201d she said. \u201cThe fact is: if we go a lot faster than we originally planned, then with the funding profiles, it\u2019s likely to push up the cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Mahony also confirmed the department had last year handed out \u00a3440m to NHS trusts to keep hospitals running before they are replaced.<\/p>\n

Paul Mustow, one of two joint senior responsible owners for the NHP at the DHSC, also told the committee that sector capacity is a \u201cchallenge\u201d for the programme.<\/p>\n

But he said the department had adopted a new method of procurement that has started to attract more contractors, including a number from abroad.<\/p>\n

Mustow said the Hospital 2.0 Alliance Framework \u2013 developed by the DHSC \u2013 has focused on \u201cworking collaboratively with the supply chain and with contractors to make sure that risks are properly apportioned between us as the clients and the contractors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is attracting more contractors back into the health market, whereas we\u2019d seen contractors leaving the health market before.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also pointed to the department\u2019s commitment to standardised design<\/a>, which he said had given contractors a \u201cgood view of the future of the pipeline of work\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still a challenging market, and we\u2019re keen to make sure that contractors and the wider supply chain see building hospitals as a really valuable and worthwhile thing to do,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The DHSC said previously that it is using a standardised in-patient bedroom design, called Hospital 2.0 (pictured), to improve efficiency on its new hospital build projects. Modular specialist Reds10 is developing the bedroom design.<\/p>\n

Last June, NHS England shortlisted 16 construction firms<\/a> \u2013 including Morgan Sindall, Kier and McLaren \u2013 to deliver \u00a337bn worth of work on the NHP.<\/p>\n

McLaren chairman Kevin Taylor told\u00a0Construction News\u00a0<\/em>last week that he had his \u201cfingers crossed\u201d the firm<\/a> would be appointed to work on the NHP programme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A shortfall in construction capacity has held back the government\u2019s attempts to remediate hospitals affected by dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a senior health department figure has admitted. The multibillion-pound programme to replace hospitals fitted with RAAC cannot move any faster without increasing costs, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard on Monday (9 February). …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90643,"featured_media":530903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79552,547,565],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-537903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-building-safety","category-buildings","category-government","issue-online-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRAAC hospitals\u2019 new-build programme \u2018constrained\u2019 by market capacity | Construction News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A shortfall in construction capacity has held back the government\u2019s attempts to remediate hospitals affected by dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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