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H2A will bring together NHS England, NHS Trusts, construction partners and the wider supply chain to deliver ‘wave 1’ schemes, with construction starting between 2025 and 2030.
Historically, NHS hospitals have been built individually by trusts, prompting concerns over cost and time overruns.
NHP’s approach sets out to leverage economies of scale, standardise hospital designs, improve productivity, ensure value for money and support delivery.
Commenting on the announcement, health minister Karin Smyth said: “This government is making the long-term investment required to rebuild and modernise our NHS, and the Hospital 2.0 Alliance is central to that commitment.
“By backing a standardised approach to hospital building, we are giving the construction sector the certainty it needs to invest in skills, capacity and innovation.
“This is about partnering with industry to deliver better hospitals faster, while driving productivity and value for the NHS and adding to the economic growth of the entire country.”
Natalie Forrest, chief programme officer at the NHP, added: “This is a defining moment for the New Hospital Programme and for healthcare construction in England. The Hospital 2.0 Alliance is about more than building hospitals – it is about transforming how we deliver them.
“By bringing together DHSC, NHS England, Trusts and industry partners under a true alliance model, we are creating the conditions for faster delivery, better value and consistent quality at scale.”
Delivering hospitals differently
Work on the £140m Emergency Care Building at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth – the first wave 1 scheme to start main construction – began in October 2025.
The four-storey facility will provide an expanded emergency department, same-day emergency care unit, four interventional radiology theatres and five new surgical theatres.
Anastasia Chrysafi, healthcare lead at Willmott Dixon, said the project will create “a state-of-the-art facility that will nearly double the capacity of one of the south west’s busiest emergency departments”.
“Being part of the Hospital 2.0 Alliance gives us the opportunity to bring that experience [of working on the Derriford Hospital scheme], alongside our commitment to sustainability and social value, to a programme that will reshape healthcare infrastructure for generations to come,” Chrysafi added.
James Davies, divisional director at Skanska, who led the firm’s tender, praised the “excellent” relationship that has been built with the NHP team: “Their collaborative approach has enabled us to shape solutions together that will help drive successful outcomes for patients, staff and communities.
“This proactive engagement will enable contractors to hit the ground running. We look forward to working closely with our partners across the programme to build hospitals that will serve generations to come.”
