Northampton-based charity spent £4 million on failed projects

The registered charity that runs St Andrew's Hospital has disclosed in its 2017/2018 annual report that £2,1 million was spent looking into whether it should expand its Birmingham operation, a venture which never transpired.

The report says that a three-year exercise explored "the possibility of building a new 80-bed facility in Birmingham, which during that year we concluded that the returns were not sufficiently certain on the £45 million total investment and have therefore concluded that the costs associated with architects plans and models have no further use to the charity."

And the report goes on to reveal that £1.9 million was spent on an IT system that was "never brought into functional use and superseded."

A St Andrew's healthcare spokeswoman said the £2,1 million was spent looking into the possibility of building a new neuropsychiatry facility in Birmingham, and spent the outlay was on "costs involved in the initial phases of the development".

She said: "Following our research, the NHS’ demand for this service in the area decreased, and we concluded the return on investment would not be satisfactory."

The spokeswoman added that £400k of the cost went towards the improvement of Selly Park South flood scheme, "which will be of benefit to the local community now and in the future."

The spokeswoman confirmed that St Andrew's Healthcare had to write-off a £1.9m spend on an IT project, which "unfortunately was superseded by new technology and our changing needs before being embedded across our charity."