Oral Answers to Questions

Boris Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 6th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Will Quince]

We are investing £500 million to create another 200,000 social care placements, but we have significantly increased the number of physical beds available in our hospitals. In July, before we made the commitment to increase bed capacity, we had 96,375 general and acute beds; in October, we had 97,350. We are also delivering that increased capacity outside of hospital through this winter by creating an extra 2,500 virtual ward beds.

[Boris Johnson (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is high time the outstanding care and skill of Hillingdon Hospital staff was matched by commensurate outstanding facilities, and that it is therefore great news that Hillingdon is one of the 40 new hospitals that the Government are building by 2030? Can he confirm that the full funding package will be announced soon, so the whole project can proceed as soon as possible?

[Will Quince]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. The Secretary of State visited Hillingdon Hospital—a hospital I am also aware of—over the summer. There has been no greater champion of Hillingdon Hospital, or of the new hospitals programme more broadly, than my right hon. Friend. Currently, five hospital schemes are in construction, two are now completed and we aim to announce the next eight by the end of this year.