Government's pledge to build 40 new hospitals

That this House notes with concern the failure of the Government’s promise to the public to deliver 40 new hospitals; notes the Nuffield Trust’s definition of a new hospital as 'a new building on an entirely new site' which means only three new hospitals have been built, two general hospitals and one non-urgent care hospital, according to their definition; highlights the desperate state on the NHS as a result of the Government’s failures, which has seen waiting lists soar to 6.5 million, and only last week, the ambulance service in England declaring critical incident status; further highlights the role privatisation has played in the deterioration of services, with an estimated £204.1 billion spent on private contracts between 2013-20, which amounts to nearly 19 per cent of the Department for Health and Social Care spending on the NHS; notes with deep concern the likelihood of further privatisation under trade deals currently being negotiated; and calls on the Government to protect the NHS from damaging privatisation, which according to the Lancet is linked with a higher mortality rate for treatable deaths.