The government has announced that work on replacing a Surrey hospital built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) will begin in 2030.
Plans to reconstruct Frimley Park were unveiled in September.
Frimley Park will now be included in the first round of NHS hospital rebuilds, which are expected to cost between £1.5 billion and £2 billion.
The Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust has been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, the government has announced that work on rebuilding St Helier Hospital in Sutton, which serves thousands of Surrey residents, will not begin until at least 2032.
In 2023, the Conservative administration announced that St Helier would receive new structures and renovations to existing ones by 2025.
However, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said MPs on Monday that the previous government’s plans were “underfunded and undeliverable,” hence construction work had been postponed.
‘Crumbling buildings’
James Marsh, Deputy Chief Executive of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals, stated that this would be “devastating” news for patients.
“I’m extremely disappointed to hear about the further delay for the new build,” he replied.
“It means money being spent on propping up our crumbling buildings, [which are] older than the NHS itself.”
Staff in St Helier have told the BBC that they were compelled to put tarpaulins to corridor ceilings to keep rain out.
We have contacted the Department of Health and Social Care for comment.
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