King's Lynn: Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be replaced

Health secretary Steve Barclay confirmed the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, which needs thousands of props and girders to prevent its roof from collapsing, has been added to the government's new hospitals programme.

In a statement in Parliament, he said the government remained committed to the 40 new hospitals pledged by Boris Johnson in 2019.

He added that five hospitals made from so-called RAAC reinforced concrete planks would be included in the programme and rebuilt by 2030.

Supports holding up the ceiling at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Image: Chris Bishop)

Two so-called RAAC hospitals, the James Paget Hospital at Gorleston and West Suffolk at Bury, were included in the original 40 hospitals.

Now the QEH has been included, along with the Airedale General in Keighley, Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, Leighton Hospital in Cheshire, and Frimley Park in Surrey.

"These five hospitals are in pressing need of repair and are being prioritised so patients and staff can benefit from major new hospital buildings, equipped with the latest technology," he said.

All seven RAAC hospitals will be rebuilt by 2030. But Mr Barclay also confirmed that up to eight hospitals which were originally due to be completed by the end of the decade will now be finished after 2030.

The delay will be seen by many as the abandoning of one of the party's key manifesto pledges before the 2019 election and leave MPs in the as-yet un-named hospitals' constituencies fearing a backlash at the next polls.

QEH staff cheer as they watch Steve Barclay's announcement on TV (Image: Chris Bishop)

Alice Webster, chief executive of the hospital, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have been added to the new hospitals' programme.

"This crucial announcement means we can move at a pace to bring a much-needed new hospital to King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

"It's excellent news for our patients, the communities we serve and every person in Team QEH and I want to express our immense gratitude to all who have supported us in getting to this crucial stage.

"Our campaign for a new hospital united us all and I am delighted that we have achieved this result together."

A ward at the hospital which has been cleared while ceiling supports are installed (Image: Chris Bishop)

North West Norfolk MP James Wild, who has been pressing the case for the new hospital in Parliament, said the announcement was "fantastic news".

"I'm delighted the compelling case I've been putting forward for a new hospital has been accepted," he said.

"This means a hospital fit for the future will be built and it is a momentous day for West Norfolk."

South West Norfolk MP Liz Truss said: "I’d like to thank the Health Secretary for listening to our representations in West Norfolk and announcing a new build for the Queen Elizabeth in King’s Lynn.

Contractors at work on a ward at the QEH where supports are being installed (Image: Chris bishop)

"As he knows, the hospital is in a poor state, parts of it are being held up by stilts and the concrete is crumbling. This announcement will come as a huge relief to local residents and will be extremely welcome.”

Norfolk County Council leader Kay Mason Billig said: “The need for investment in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital has been clear for some time, and we’ve been in regular correspondence with ministers urging them to prioritise the replacement of the QEH.

"I welcome today’s announcement and the news that ministers have come to see the urgency of this issue."

Terry Parish, leader of West Norfolk council, said: "This is a much-awaited and welcome announcement.

"We value the work that the executive team, previous leader, councillor Rust and all the residents of West Norfolk have put in to ensure our case was strong and compelling."

A model of the new hospital (shown in pink) which will be built on what is currently the car park (Image: Chris Bishop)

Plans for an £862m replacement hospital have been drawn up. It will be built on what is currently the QEH's main car park.

Work is set to begin this summer on a new multi-storey car park near the hospital's main Gayton Road entrance, to make way for the new build.

It will be 30pc larger than the current 500-bed QEH, to cope with growing demand as the population it serves expands.

Today senior managers said the new hospital would take a number of years to go through the planning process and the earliest they expected it to be open was 2029.

Props and timbers holding up the ceiling at the entrance to a ward (Image: Chris Bishop)

The current hospital was built during the late 1970s, with an expected working life of 30 years.

But it is still in use more than a decade later and the RAAC - reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete - planks which were used in its roof are failing.

More than 4,300 props are needed to prevent it from collapsing.

Protestors outside the hospital (Image: Sonya Duncan)

Campaigners from King's Lynn Trades Council have held weekly protests outside the hospital and lobbied successive ministers.

Its secretary Jo Rust said: "I’m incredibly relieved that we’ve finally found out that our hospital is on the list of 40 new builds. 

"It’s been a long time coming and the frustration we’ve all felt, campaigners, politicians, staff and patients, has just been growing all the time.

Jo Rust, secretary of the King's Lynn Trades Council (Image: Matthew Usher)

"It will have impacted staff recruitment at the trust, which then has a knock-on effect on the patients."