Publish date: 3 March 2026
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust welcomes the announcement from the New Hospital Programme (NHP) about the appointment of 10 industry leading construction partners to the Hospital 2.0 Alliance (H2A), marking a significant milestone in delivering the largest hospital building programme in a generation, including the new Leighton in Crewe.
The programme is transforming the way healthcare infrastructure is planned, designed, and delivered across England. Through collaboration, standardisation and long-term partnerships, NHP is reshaping the environments in which world-class care is delivered – supporting both today’s patients and the future of the NHS.
At the centre of this transformation is the Hospital 2.0 Alliance (H2A).
H2A brings together NHS England, NHS Trusts, construction partners, and the wider supply chain in a true alliance model designed to drive systemic change across the sector. The alliance aims to:
- Deliver hospitals that are faster to build, safer and digitally enabled
- Unlock additional capacity within a constrained UK construction market
- Drive value for money, quality, and consistency at scale
- Enable industrialised delivery through Hospital 2.0 standardised designs
- Attract new entrants and international expertise into UK healthcare infrastructure
- Invest in skills, social value and long-term capability across the construction and healthcare sectors
The H2A Agreement provides the commercial vehicle for this step change in delivery. In parallel, the Alliance Agreement establishes a collaborative model to drive high performance, enables shared learning and supports delivery of a sustained, multi-year national programme.
The 10 construction partners have been appointed following a rigorous, fair and transparent procurement process. Collectively, they bring extensive healthcare construction expertise, additional market capacity, and a shared commitment to delivering better hospitals for patients, staff and communities.
Karin Smyth, Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care), said: “This Government is making a long-term investment in modern healthcare infrastructure, and the Hospital 2.0 Alliance is central to that commitment. By backing a standardised, industrialised approach to hospital building, we are giving the construction sector the certainty and pipeline it needs to invest in skills, capacity and innovation. This is about partnering with industry to deliver better hospitals faster, while driving productivity and value for the NHS whilst also adding to the economic growth of the entire county.”
Natalie Forrest, Chief Programme Officer at the NHP, said: “This is a defining moment for the New Hospital Programme and for healthcare construction in England. The Hospital 2.0 Alliance is about more than building hospitals – it is about transforming how we deliver them. By bringing together DHSC, NHS England, Trusts, and industry partners under a true alliance model, we are creating the conditions for faster delivery, better value, and consistent quality at scale. The appointment of these construction partners is critical to our capacity and capability, and reflects a shared commitment to collaboration, innovation and long-term investment in skills and social value. Together, we are building a sustainable model that will support the NHS for decades to come.”
Russ Favager, the Trust’s Board Senior Responsible Officer for Leighton New Hospital Programme, said: “This is great news for both the national programme and for the Trust, as it brings us a step closer to a new Leighton becoming a reality. The Hospital 2.0 Alliance approach will enable us to benefit from a standardised, industrialised model of delivery while retaining a strong local focus on the needs of our patients and staff. By working in true partnership with industry, the New Hospital Programme and the wider programme, we are moving closer to delivering a modern, state of the art, digitally enabled hospital that will serve the people of Mid Cheshire and beyond for generations to come.”
The NHP looks forward to working in partnership with:
- Bovis Construction (Europe) Limited
- Dragados Sociedad Anonima
- Integrated Health Projects (IHP)
- John Graham Construction Limited
- Kier Construction Limited
- Laing O'Rourke Delivery Limited
- Morgan Sindall Construction and Infrastructure Ltd
- Sacyr UK Limited
- Skanska Construction UK Limited
- Willmott Dixon Construction Limited
This appointment represents a decisive step towards building hospitals differently – together – and delivering a modern, resilient healthcare estate for generations to come.
The new Leighton Hospital, which is expected to open in 2032, will be built on land to the north of the existing site.
