NHS data shows over £70 million is needed to repair Queen Elizabeth Hospital
The amount needed is the sixth highest of any hospital in the country
NHS data shows that well over £70 million is needed to carry out urgent repair work to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in West Norfolk.
The amount of funding needed is the sixth highest of any hospital in the country - staff tell us they've been working for three years to keep the crumbling roof there safe.
"Obviously very worried about the situation"
Jo Rust is a local councillor and is part of the 'Save the QEH' group:
"Some years ago under the former Chief Executive team, funding was applied for but only half of it was given over, so there have been numerous attempts to get the QEH the funding it needs to carry on operating, properly.
"Those who use the hospital, both now and in the future, are obviously very worried about the situation. We know that there has been significant under-funding for years and years.
"Something that everyone should be worried about"
"It's a very real fear that we won't have a new QEH by 2030 and we'll instead be faced with a burning deck and no Plan B. I think it's something that everyone should be worried about.
"The hospital needs to have an urgent and instant injection of funding in order to make it fit for our use and those who work there."
English trusts with the largest high-risk repairs backlog (general acute hospitals only):
"The Trust are doing their upmost to keep disruption to a minimum"
There are more than five thousand props and supports holding up 56 areas of the hospital near King's Lynn that opened in 1980.
It's a figure that's more than doubled since late autumn of 2022 - as the estate reaches the end of it's life in six years (2030).
Paul Brooks, Director of Estates and Facilities at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“The QEH is a Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) hospital, and we continue to invest national capital funding to maximise the safety the Trust’s current building.
"Working with a skilled engineering teams, we have implemented an intense installation programme over the past three years to create a steel and support structure to maintain the safety of the roof, for our patients, visitors and staff.
“We appreciate it can be disconcerting for our patients and visitors when they see building work taking place - teams across the Trust are doing their upmost to keep disruption to a minimum.
"In May 2023 the Government announced that the QEH had been added to New Hospital Programme so as a Trust we are working at pace with enabling work to bring a new hospital to King’s Lynn and West Norfolk by 2030.”
What's the Government said on this?
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:
“We have invested significant sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings – including £4.2 billion this financial year – so staff have the facilities needed to provide world-class care for patients.
“Trusts are responsible for prioritising this funding to maintain and refurbish their premises, including the renewal and replacement of equipment.
“This is on top of the expected investment of over £20 billion for the New Hospital Programme, a further £1.7 billion for over 70 hospital upgrades across England, and a range of nationally funded infrastructure improvements in mental health, urgent and emergency care and diagnostic capacity.”