THE Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) is among some of the 40 "new" hospitals the Prime Minister has set out funding for.

Boris Johnson confirmed a funding package worth more than £3.7 billion for the hospitals to be built across England by 2030.

While some will be built on new sites, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said some will be constructed on existing sites to replace existing facilities.

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For Reading's RBH, this means a rebuild to replace the ageing estate and "to tackle significant critical backlog".

The government has said that the Health Infrastructure Plan (HIP) is the biggest hospital building programme "in a generation."

It launched last September, with a £2.8 billion investment that gave six new hospitals the funding to go ahead, alongside seed funding for trusts to work up business cases.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "The dedication and tireless efforts of our nurses, doctors and all healthcare workers have kept the NHS open throughout this pandemic.

"But no matter what this virus throws at us, we are determined to build back better and deliver the biggest hospital building programme in a generation.

"From Morpeth to Milton Keynes, we are building 40 new hospitals across England to level up our NHS so more people have top-class healthcare services in their local area."

Health and Social Care secretary Matt Hancock said: "We protected the NHS through the peak of coronavirus.

"Today we recommit to protect the NHS for years to come with the 40 new hospitals we will build over the next decade.

"I love the NHS and I will do all I can to make sure it is there for you and your family over the years to come. The biggest hospital building programme in a generation will help protect the NHS long into the future.

"Alongside this, as announced last year, 20 hospitals will receive a share of £850 million to upgrade outdated facilities and equipment, with enabling works already beginning at several sites.

"Over the summer the Prime Minister announced £1.5 billion in capital funding for the NHS, including £450 million for 142 A&E upgrades ahead of winter to improve infection control and increase capacity.

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"This investment will be on top of the record extra £33.9 billion a year by 2023 to 2024 that the government is providing to the NHS, and passed into law this year.

"Alongside work to deliver the government’s manifesto commitment on 40 new hospitals, progress is also being made on delivering 50,000 more nurses, with over 14,100 more working in the NHS compared to last year, as well as over 9,200 more doctors."