Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) value for money of modular hospital construction methods in delivering additional NHS capacity; and whether he has plans to increase the use of (i) modular and (ii) prefabricated buildings across the hospital estate.

We recognise the benefits and opportunities of modern methods of construction (MMC), including modular construction, faster construction times, cost savings, minimised disruption, higher quality and safety standards, and the use of sustainable materials and methods.

A toolkit has been developed to support MMC opportunities in healthcare and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-modern-methods-of-construction-assessment-tool-user-guide/

The NHS MMC assessment tool is recommended for use on all projects to inform the use of MMC of opportunities and is mandated for projects over £25 million to meet business case requirements of 70% new build and 50% refurbishment using MMC.

The New Hospital Programme is already transforming the way that hospital infrastructure is constructed by using a national standardised approach, called Hospital 2.0. Hospital 2.0 uses a standardised ‘kit of parts’ for hospital components, ranging from doors to full bathroom pods, that can be assembled into different size hospitals in an optimised, consistent, and repeatable way and with off-site manufacturing and assembly, reducing costs and accelerating construction. Taken together, MMC and Hospital 2.0 will accelerate the building process, improving productivity and maximising value for money.