Norfolk MPs make fresh calls for brand new hospital near Kings Lynn
MP's from the county held a debate to urge those in power to consider a new site for the Queen Elizabeth, which is currently falling down
Fresh calls have been made for the Government to fund a brand new hospital in West Norfolk.
MP's from the county including James Wild, Duncan Baker and Jerome Mayhew have held a debate to urge those in power to consider a new site for the Queen Elizabeth, which is currently falling down.
Mr Wild who set up the debate and represents North West Norfolk says the latest CQC report shows that the hospitals staff are worth investing in:
"The leadership has demonstrated it can drive sustained improvements and move to a position where staff feel supported and valued, where there is a strong focus on improved patient care and outcomes. Now we have an opportunity to build on that progress, literally, to provide the major investment, to modernise the hospital and to further improve care".
He went on to say that the hospital being upgraded to 'Good' by the CQC in a number of areas is quite the achievement, given the circumstances:
"It's frankly remarkable that all of that has been achieved during a period where Covid posed such huge challenges to QEH and other hospitals, along with other parts of the social care sector. This hasn't happened by luck, it's due to the leadership, hard work and commitment of all the staff at QEH, that I've seen first hand".
He also told us the Government that it's plain to see why the hospitals needs more funding now:
"Surrounded by props holding up the roof is a poor experience for patients, it makes it harder for staff to care for them and it isn't something that we should accept and we don't. This is a serious situation and the Trust's risk register has a red rating for direct risk to life and the safety of patients, visitors and staff due to the potential catastrophic risk of failure of the roof structure.
Last year the critical care unit had to close for some weeks due precisely to these safety issues, so the urgency of the need for a new hospital and the strength of the case is underlined by the fact that over a third of all prop reported issues in the East of England were at QEH in the last year".