A further eight projects will be added to the pipeline of new hospital and major overhaul projects once future funding bids have been assessed.

New standards will be developed over the coming months to help standardise the design of new hospitals and make use of modular construction methods to speed up the build.

The full pipeline of projects will need far more than the £3.7bn earmarked, with big extra spending commitments needed over future years to deliver the ambitious programme which could ultimately cost up to £20bn to deliver, according to NHS insiders.

The health infrastructure plan (HIP) is the biggest hospital building programme in a generation.

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

The trusts that received seed funding will now all be fully funded to deliver 25 new hospitals.

A new hospital in Shotley Bridge is also being added to the programme.

NHS Providers deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery said: “We welcome the government’s focus on investing in replacing and refurbishing the NHS estate as, for a growing number of trusts, this has now become an urgent problem.

“Building a new, average mid-sized, hospital costs around £500m, so this is just an initial down payment.

“If the government wants these hospitals built in the time it is specifying, trusts will need the rest of the capital allocated as soon as possible.”

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.”

Alongside this, as announced last year, 20 hospitals will receive a share of £850m to upgrade outdated facilities and equipment, with enabling works already beginning at several sites.

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