Fears have been raised that the rebuilding of the country’s most dilapidated hospital could be delayed, scaled back or scrapped, as the government looks to cut its future spending.
The roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King’s Lynn is being held up by some 2,500 props to prevent it from falling down, but the government has yet to commit to a £862m rebuild.
The hospital has been waiting several months to find out whether it will be selected in a government programme to build eight new hospitals in Britain, in addition to the 40 already promised in the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto.
But following former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s botched mini-budget, new chancellor Jeremy Hunt is taking the government in a new direction, focused on fiscal discipline and balancing the books.
Under Mr Kwarteng, government departments were already being tasked with making ‘capital savings’ - reductions in spending on big infrastructure projects - of 10-15pc, but those cuts are now expected to become more severe.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the eight new hospitals programme is still currently set to go ahead, but fears remain over what will be in Mr Hunt's so-called medium term fiscal plan on October 31.
Alex Stewart, CEO of Healthwatch Norfolk, said his organisation was “extremely concerned at potential budget cuts to both health and social care”.
He said: “Residents and staff are aware of the dilapidated state of, for example, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Healthwatch consider that it would be a retrograde step if a decision is made to halt any monies being provided for the potential rebuild of the hospital.
“Such an approach in the short term could lead to far more expensive ramifications moving forwards and result in the hospital being unable to continue delivering the services that are currently being provided from the QEH.
“Budgets are being stretched to the limits and further cuts could potentially lead to the withdrawal of certain services if there is neither the finance to provide them, nor the staffing infrastructure to deliver them.
“Healthwatch, along with all stakeholders across health and social care will be watching the budget with interest and concern as to the wider impact any proposed measures might have on the Norfolk and Waveney system.”
Prime minister Liz Truss, whose constituency lies just a few miles from the hospital, told this paper during her summer leadership campaign that she was “very committed” to a new QEH, but since becoming PM, she has resisted offering a firm guarantee on seeing the project through.
In a local radio interview, she instead said that her health secretary Therese Coffey would visit the hospital to see the situation for herself, but a date for that visit has not yet been confirmed.
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, the QEH’s local Conservative MP James Wild, urged the government to ensure the hospital is rebuilt.
He pointed out that it is the most propped up hospital in the country and said he had raised its case in a meeting with Ms Truss on Tuesday morning.
He said: “Given the pressing need, and the value for money of this case, I urge the government to confirm the QEH will be one of the new hospital schemes and part of the planned capital investment programme.”
The DHSC spokesman said: “Patient and staff safety is our top priority and we have invested record sums to upgrade NHS buildings and facilities, so that trusts can continue to provide the best possible quality of care.
"This includes allocating £750,000 to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in June 2020 for critical infrastructure repairs.
"We have received an expression of interest for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to become one of the remaining eight new hospital schemes to be announced.
"The selected hospitals will be announced later this year.”
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