King's Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital rebuild announcement delayed
It's hoped the ageing hospital will be completely rebuilt - but an annoucement from the government has been put back
News on whether the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) will be rebuilt is not expected until May, officials have confirmed.
The 42-year-old hospital in King’s Lynn was built from Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) and has some 470 temporary props preventing its roof from collapsing.
The QEH was not included in a list of new-builds unveiled by the government in 2020, but hopes to be one of eight further replacements announced this year.
Back in February, the hospital’s managers were told a longlist for those eight hospitals would be “shared within weeks”.
But at a Tuesday (April 5) meeting of the hospital’s board of directors, deputy chief executive Laura Skaife-Knight said the announcement was now not expected until May, due to the UK being in a ‘purdah’ period ahead of the May 5 local elections.
During ‘purdah’, government announcements are limited in case they influence elections.
Ms Skaife-Knight added: “Coupled with that, there is a piece of work going on nationally, to inform the Treasury around the future of RAAC hospitals, that I think is also critical.”
“So I think coupled with purdah, that national report will inform both the longlist and the future of RAAC hospitals.”