Tory plan to build 40 new NHS hospitals in tatters

Labour set to drop half of rebuilds pledged by Boris Johnson as costs hit £30bn

- Denis Campbell& Rowena Mason

At least half of the 40 new hospitals pledged by Boris Johnson will not be built until the 2040s, the Guardian has learned, in a move decried as "devastating" for staff and patients.

Labour are preparing to announce that many of the crumbling NHS hospitals in England that were due to be replaced by 2030 are in effect being removed from the building programme.

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, will blame the Conservatives for bequeathing Labour a huge infrastructure project that was only budgeted for until this March, and for which projected costs have spiralled up to £30bn. The announcement, likely to come early next week, will leave about 20 rebuilds in limbo, forcing many patients to continue being treated in increasingly dangerous environments and buildings that are unfit for purpose.

Bosses of the affected trusts will be left infuriated and the decision could prompt criticism from local MPs when a government review of the programme is published.

In September Streeting said that 12 of the 40 projects, which included new buildings within hospitals and refurbishments, could go ahead, including seven facing the risk of imminent collapse because they contained Raac concrete. But he ordered a review into the cost, viability and timescale of proceeding with 25 others that involve ageing and decrepit hospitals, parts of which are falling apart and disrupting care for patients.