Bosses at Queen Elizabeth Hospital are still working to a 2030 rebuild deadline
Earlier this week the Health Secretary announced the hospital's rebuild would be continuing 'at pace' due to safety concerns
Bosses at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn tell us they're relieved the hospital rebuild is still going ahead.
Plans to rebuild the QEH, which is supported by thousands of props and affected by RAAC, were put on hold in July after the Labour Government ordered a review into the New Hospitals Programme.
Earlier this week though, the Health Secretary announced the hospital's rebuild would be continuing 'at pace' due to safety concerns.
Paul Brooks is the hospital's Director of Estates and Facilities: "Any change of government gives you butterflies about a national programme being ended, because that's what happens when the governments change, but thankfully, everyone's focus is on getting RAAC hospitals up and down the country replaced...
"We were pretty sure when the government, if it were to get in, would want to continue the process based on their manifesto, and they've backed that up since they've come into power which is great news for us."
He remains confident the new hospital will be up and running by 2030, despite the delays whilst the programme was reviewed: "We know that a large swathe of the hospital, because it has RAAC, won't be supported after 2030 from a technical point of view, so we've got to be ready...
"We've reached that point where things need replacing and structural engineers are telling us the lifespan is lessening, so we need to be in the new hospital by 2030.
"We were just delighted to get the new government's backing."
Paul tells us he's got grand designs for the new hospital: "We want to build a hospital that's digitally enabled, state of the art and flexible to make sure healthcare is catered for.
"The people of King's Lynn and the surrounding areas really deserve it."