Member of Parliament for Windsor, Jack Rankin, has expressed his “deep disappointment” at the delays to the “absolutely critical” rebuild programme of the Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH).
On 20/01/25, it was confirmed by the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting that the much-anticipated hospital rebuild would not happen until 2037 at the earliest.
The rebuild was part of the previous Conservative government’s new hospital programme, agreed in 2020.
The RBH site includes buildings dating back as far as 1839 which do not meet current standards; the buildings struggle to handle the digital infrastructure and technology demands of modern-day healthcare. Due to the age of some of the buildings, energy efficiency is poor and costs run significantly higher than a modern hospital. As it stands, there are severe capacity issues at the hospital. Patients experience queuing at A&E almost every day, which is set to worsen with population growth.
These issues will not be addressed by the rebuild for at least another twelve years.
Commenting, Jack Rankin MP said:
“It is deeply disappointing that the Health Secretary has delayed the absolutely critical rebuild of the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
“The hospital’s infrastructure is creaking, A&E queues are untenable and money is being burnt each and every day through poor energy efficiency. Our hardworking doctors, nurses and staff – and the public – deserve so much better.
“Labour MPs in Berkshire were elected on delivering the new hospital by ending ‘delays’ – but have now spectacularly backtracked, just like when they pushed through their jobs tax and betrayed millions of pensioners by slashing their winter fuel payments.”
