Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what operational savings his Department has identified from the Royal Liverpool University Hospital that may be applicable to schemes planned under the New Hospital Programme.

The New Hospital Programme (NHP) continues to learn lessons from early schemes that were delivered through the programme, including the Royal Liverpool Hospital (RLH) scheme. Lessons are embedded into the standardised approach of the NHP, Hospital 2.0, to ensure we provide health infrastructure that is fit for the future.

The RLH scheme was designed without the assistance of our standardised approach, Hospital 2.0. We have learnt from the initial challenges that the scheme faced upon opening, specifically the workforce adjusting to the 100% single rooms. We have factored this into our standardised approach, ensuring that in future, digitisation and the use of technology can mitigate and support the workforce in new models of care.

The programme continues to collect data, including on workforce, to inform our standardised approach. RLH have also reported their most improved survey results since moving into their new facility and a significant reduction in hospital acquired infections.