PLANS to build a new hospital for Basingstoke have been put into doubt, as the chief executive of the hospital trust speaks out about the “poor condition” of its ageing hospital buildings.

Alex Whitfield, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which runs Basingstoke, Andover and Winchester hospitals, said it has the worst maintenance backlog in the south east, with ceiling tiles falling down and sewage leaks just some of the problems in its ageing buildings.

Her comments come as plans to build a new hospital for the town have been put into doubt because of fears over insufficient funding and rising costs, which could scupper the Conservative’s flagship NHS pledge.

The Observer newspaper reported that only 10 of former prime minister Boris Johnson’s 40 new hospital projects have full planning permission.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) is one of 12 trusts to have no planning permission in place for a new hospital, while 18 of the projects are thought to have some kind of preliminary agreement.

HHFT has been unable to gain planning permission because the trust has not even decided on a location for a new hospital.

READ MORE: Plans to build a new hospital for Basingstoke appear to come to a halt

As previously reported, the project is two years behind a published scheduled timeline, and a public consultation due to take place in January 2021 to help decide between two shortlisted locations has still not been held.

Despite claims from ministers that the 40 new hospitals, including one for Basingstoke, will be delivered by 2030 with £3.7billion worth of funding, health chiefs and economists told the Observer that the funding is “woefully insufficient”.

The plan to build 40 new hospitals was at the heart of Mr Johnson’s 2019 general election manifesto, but NHS figures have told the Observer there is ‘no chance’ the schemes will be delivered on time.

One boss of an NHS trust awaiting a new hospital told the Observer that some hospitals waiting for a new building are “literally falling down”.

Ms Whitfield said HHFT was ranked as having the “worst estate” in the south east region for its backlog of maintenance.

She added: “Patients, visitors and staff experience how poor the condition of our hospitals are every day, from noisy portable air conditioner units in several maternity suites because of overheating, to sewage leaks in clinical and non-clinical areas and ceiling tiles falling down.”

Responding to the findings that most of the planned new hospital projects don’t have planning permission, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “This is truly scandalous.”

She added: “The Conservative government is on course to break their flagship NHS promise and refuse to admit it. Communities already suffering from dangerously long ambulance waiting times are also left with crumbling hospitals which are falling apart at the seams.”

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The independent National Audit Office (NAO) is now investigating the programme.

The NAO supports parliament in holding the government to account and help improve public services through its audits.

Its report on the new hospital programme will examine whether the DHSC and NHS England are “managing the programme in a way that is likely to achieve value for money”.

This will include progress compared with expectations, management of the programme nationally, and support and challenges of local projects.

A DHSC spokesperson said it is still committed to delivering a new hospital in Basingstoke by 2030, adding: “We are investing £3.7 billion for the first four years of the New Hospital Programme and remain committed to all schemes that have been announced as part of it.

“Requirements for planning permission are dependent on construction timelines over the decade and we continue to work closely with trusts on their plans.

SEE MORE: Partnership considering buying land to extend Basingstoke hospital

“We are developing a national approach to constructing new hospitals so schemes can be built more rapidly and ensure value for money.”

The spokesperson said the next steps will be set out “in due course” adding: “Final funding allocations are only confirmed once the full business case has been reviewed and agreed.”

It said that just five of the hospital schemes are in construction and only two are complete.

HHFT previously said that the project for Basingstoke “remains on course” to be delivered by 2030.

It has identified two potential sites – land off Junction 7 of the M3 or the current site of Basingstoke hospital.

Ms Whitfield said: "The Hampshire Together: Modernising our Hospitals and Health Services programme has a very clear case for change, which considers not only the state of our hospital buildings but the fact our population is growing and getting older, some of our services are not sustainable and we are facing significant financial challenges. The programme is driven by our ambition to provide outstanding care for the population of north and mid Hampshire.

“Patients, visitors and staff experience how poor the condition of our hospitals are every day, from noisy portable air conditioner units in several maternity suites because of overheating, to sewage leaks in clinical and non-clinical areas and ceiling tiles falling down.

"Hampshire hospitals was ranked as having the worst estate in the south east region for critical estate maintenance backlog by the National Estate Return Information Code data 2021/22.

"We have worked with the national New Hospital Programme (NHP) team, to carry out a detailed assessment of our current hospitals as a baseline for understanding the start point for our work to deliver a new hospital and we are continuing to repair and maintain our current hospitals in the safest way possible.

“Our work is ongoing and complex, and we remain on course to deliver a new hospital for Hampshire as part of the government’s national New Hospital Programme. We would like to assure local people that we will take our proposals out for public consultation at the earliest opportunity. The exact timescale for delivery of local schemes as part of the national programme is still under review.”

Basingstoke MP Maria Miller said: “Hampshire hospitals trust is part of the government's new hospital programme of 40 new hospitals and significant work is underway.

"Planning works continue. NHS rules mean that planning consent can only be applied for at a later date."