Ministers have ordered an urgent review of East Anglia's crumbling hospitals - as Boris Johnson's pledge to build 40 new ones faces an investigation by the government's own spending watchdog.
The review centres on buildings which were constructed in the 1970s and '80s from concrete planks which had an expected life of 30 years.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital at King's Lynn, the James Paget at Gorleston and West Suffolk at Bury St Edmunds are all still in use more than four decades later.
The QEH was left off the government's list of 40 new hospitals which it has pledged to build by 2030 despite the fact its planks are failing and 1,500 props are needed to stop its roof collapsing.
A further eight projects are due to be announced imminently, as senior managers warn the QEH must be included.
Health Minister Edward Argar was told it will have become unsafe and have had to be abandoned by 2030 when he toured the hospital last month.
Reports over the weekend said the government's review would be kept confidential but it had examined whether hospitals built from concrete planks should be rebuilt.
Saffron Cordery, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, said: “It is vital trusts get access to the capital they need to replace RAAC [concrete] planks and address other critical infrastructure risks to ensure patient and staff safety is not compromised.”
Construction expert Dr Saul Humphrey said replacing the roof of a working hospital was "incredibly difficult" and the best solution for the QEH would be a replacement.
The National Audit Office (NAO) is planning a "value for money review" into increasing costs due to spiralling inflation and whether all of the 40 hospitals will in fact be new.
The investigation emerged in a letter to shadow health secretary Wes Streeting from NAO comptroller Gareth Davies after the Labour MP warned of a waste of taxpayers' money.
Mr Streeting said many NHS trusts are still awaiting funds to be allocated, while many "new hospitals" are in fact alterations or refurbishments.
The Department of Health and Social Care said: "We are on track to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030.
"We are working closely with the NHS and trusts on the development of their building plans."
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