A new hospital is the Christmas present everyone in northwest Norfolk wants, an MP has told the health secretary, as he continued to exert pressure over the crumbling Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Conservative MP James Wild quizzed health secretary Steve Barclay about when there would be an announcement over rebuilding the King's Lynn hospital in the House of Commons on Monday.
The roof of the hospital is being held up by some 3,000 props to prevent it from falling down, but the government has yet to commit to a £862m rebuild.
It has been waiting several months to find out whether it will be selected in a government programme to build eight new hospitals in Britain, in addition to the 40 already promised in the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto.
And Mr Wild, North West Norfolk MP, made the point to Mr Barclay that people in his constituency are tired of waiting for a decision.
He said: "A decision was due in the spring. Christmas is coming and the only question people in northwest Norfolk has is when will we get the present that everyone wants of a new hospital for the staff and patients."
Mr Barclay, whose North East Cambridgeshire constituency neigbours Norfolk, said he had visited the QEH site earlier this year and that dealing with a solution to the problems being faced by RAAC [reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete] hospitals was a priority.
He added: "I note the extensive support he [Mr Wild] has among parliamentary colleagues, including the member for South West Norfolk [Liz Truss], who has recently added her support to the scheme.
"He will also be aware that we added £20m last year and £30m this year to address some of the issues, but it is a priority and we are working on it."
The roof of the entire hospital is being supported to prevent it collapsing, as concrete planks still in place more than a decade after the end of their expected working lifespan begin to sag and fail.
One of former prime minister Ms Truss's first public visits after her resignation from Downing Street was to the QEH.
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