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The government is encouraging the NHS to use modern construction methods in the construction of 40 new hospitals.
That’s according to former minister for care Caroline Dinenage, speaking in a Commons debate on innovation in hospital design in February.
Under its new health infrastructure plan (HIP), the government committed to building 40 hospitals over the next decade, with 20 upgrades now underway.
Dinenage said: “Our building programme will take advantage of innovative design and innovative construction methods, and we are encouraging the NHS to take advantage of a range of modern construction approaches, including offsite manufacturing and standardisation, such as repeatable room design. Such methods can enable new and better buildings to be built quicker than otherwise would be possible.”
Dinenage added that the design of hospitals has a “massive part to play” in achieving net zero carbon targets, with the projects selected for phase one and two of the HIP instructed to follow the framework developed by the UK Green Building Council on net zero carbon buildings.