A government source said: “The prime minister has been clear since day one that the NHS is a top priority.
This money will be felt by frontline services, by the doctors and nurses whose hard work is invaluable, and
by the patients they care for.”
However, Labour said the funding fell “significantly short” of what was needed and pointed out that the
government has previously cut money for NHS buildings and equipment in order to fund day-to-day care.
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said: “This announcement – even if it’s ever delivered –
falls significantly short of what’s needed to provide the quality, safe care to patients after years of Tory cuts.
Tory ministers have repeatedly cut capital investment budgets in recent years. These smash and grab raids
have meant over £4bn slashed and seen the NHS repair bill spiral to £6bn, putting patient safety seriously
at risk.
“What’s more, Matt Hancock [the health secretary] has hopelessly failed to deliver on existing Tory
promises, delivering less than 3 per cent of cash supposedly earmarked for upgrades. This record of
incompetence and cuts confirms what even Johnson’s advisers admit – Tory MPs simply don’t care about
the NHS.”
It is understood that £850m of the additional funding will go towards upgrading the 20 hospitals – a pledge
made by Mr Johnson on the steps of Downing Street minutes after he became prime minister. Then, he
said: “My job is to make sure you don’t have to wait three weeks to see your GP and we start work this week
with 20 new hospital upgrades, and ensuring that money for the NHS really does get to the frontline.”
Speaking in the House of Commons the next day, he promised that there would also be more funding to
help the NHS prepare for winter.
Mr Johnson said he had also asked officials to come up with a plan for “for drastically reducing waiting times
and for GP appointments”.