Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Rejected
Require the New Hospital Programme to conduct comprehensive live clinical testing of Hospital 2.0 designs.
Conclusion
Before the evidence session, we visited a “super hospital” project in Denmark. The Danes had built a prototype of a new operating theatre on the edge of an existing hospital and each surgical team was given access to it so they could test how it worked in practice. Using the lessons from these clinicians, the new hospital was being built with theatres that were already known to work for all types of surgery. We asked whether the NHP team was planning to use similar live clinical exercises. DHSC told us it was consulting with clinicians but was not currently planning live testing. The NHP team will look at organisations that already have new facilities.27 However it decides to proceed, NHP needs to get the Hospital 2.0 design and build right, otherwise all new hospitals will have problems in years to come.28 Assumptions underlying new standard hospital design
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation for similar live clinical exercises, stating it will test Hospital 2.0 within RAAC schemes and use prototyping facilities from late 2024 to engage clinicians and manufacturers in improving designs and aiding training.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The government agrees that NHP should test Hospital 2.0, its standardised approach to building hospitals, and intends to do so at the earliest opportunity within one of the RAAC schemes, given the importance of prioritising these to protect patient and staff safety. However, construction is unlikely to start in 2024. Consistent evidence from major programmes demonstrates beginning construction ahead of achieving sufficient maturity of design ends up costing time and money. The NHP is however conducting deep dive reviews into how Hospital 2.0 would work in a variety of schemes, and working closely with clinicians, NHS trusts, Royal Colleges, patient and public groups, and the supply chain to gather best practice to include in Hospital 2.0. The standardised reference designs are being tested for fit against the constraints and contexts of specific types of hospital schemes, including low-rise and high-rise hospitals. This will provide learning on how Hospital 2.0 designs may need to be adapted when applied to other settings. The NHP intends to test and further develop Hospital 2.0 designs through more established prototyping facilities from late 2024, subject to business case processes and approvals, alongside ongoing design work and anthropometric studies. These prototyping facilities aim to engage patients, clinicians and manufacturers in improving the designs of key elements, such as operating theatres, and aid training and familiarisation to support commissioning and efficient roll-out of services in new hospitals. The NHP will feed back all learning from different schemes as aspects of Hospital 2.0 designs are applied into a continuous learning process. In 2023, the NHP launched a library of Hospital 2.0 products to trusts, external parties and industry, supporting planning and scheme development, before a detailed release of Hospital 2.0 in May 2024.