West Norfolk leaders meet Health Secretary to push for replacement for QEH
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn is in urgent need of replacement
Political leaders in West Norfolk have held a meeting with Health Secretary Steve Barclay, to again push for a replacement to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn.
West Norfolk Council Leader Stuart Dark was involved, along with North West Norfolk MP James Wild.
It comes ahead of Jeremy Hunt's budget announcement on March 15.
Bosses at the QEH are desperate for funding to either replace or repair the building, which currently has thousands of props holding up the roof.
The facility was opened in 1980 and was only designed to last 30 years. It was built with lightweight concrete which is gradually crumbling.
It's feared the building could soon be too dangerous to use, depriving people in West Norfolk of a local hospital.
Last week former Prime Minister Liz Truss also called for an imminent decision on funding.
Stuart Dark, Leader of the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk, said:
"I was pleased that the Secretary of State was able to see James Wild MP and myself in London last week, particularly given his diary commitments.
"At our meeting I was able to once more state this council’s long-standing, united, cross-party position that the QEH needs to be urgently replaced and that the delay in an announcement of a funding decision was causing continuing concern.
"I was heartened that the Secretary of State clearly understood the serious challenges faced by the QEH specifically, and RAAC hospitals in general, and took on board the issue of our community needing as early an announcement as possible.
"This meeting, and the response from The Chief Secretary of the Treasury to James Wild's question in parliament earlier this week, has given me much optimism for the outcome of the QEH bid."