The UK Government's New Hospital Programme (NHP) is seeking to appoint a lead consultant for a six-year contract valued at up to £600m ($727.78m), reported building.co.uk.

This consultant, known as the program delivery partner (PDP), will oversee the construction of at least 28 major hospitals as part of the government's plan to build 40 new hospitals by 2030.

The initial contract value, estimated at £500m ($606.48m) to £600m, is subject to government approval.

This contract is expected to run from the 2024/25 financial year until 2030/31, with the potential for a four-year extension if the team performs well.

The NHP aims to use a modular design approach called 'Hospital 2.0' to make hospital construction 25% faster and more cost-effective.

The PDP, likely a consortium of project management firms, will play a crucial role in establishing a national industry for standardised components.

This team is expected to consist of 300 to 400 staff initially and will gradually integrate their expertise into the NHP team over time.

The NHP will include 45 hospitals, with some needing renovation due to unsafe materials, all to be addressed by 2030.

This programme is considered an ongoing investment in hospital infrastructure beyond 2030.

The document also highlights past project failings, and the NHP plans to address these issues by standardizing designs, streamlining processes, and incentivising the PDP based on performance metrics, with the possibility of reduced margins for underperformance.

The publication quoted NHP as saying: “Our approach provides a pipeline of projects to encourage up-front supplier investments and supports a timely delivery of NHP Schemes by developing the manufacturing capacity nationally, to ensure suppliers are available when needed.”

“The NHP also blamed a lack of integration between construction and operational teams and “inconsistent” collaboration between NHS trusts and project team partners for leading to “siloed” work on projects.