The pressures Norfolk's hospitals are facing in the winter care crisis has triggered another parliamentary plea for the government to commit to rebuild the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
With the county's hospitals struggling to cope at a time of high demand, staff sickness and difficulties in getting people discharged to their homes or into social care, a Norfolk MP once again raised the plight of the King's Lynn hospital.
The roof of the 500-bed hospital, built with an expected working life of 30 years in the late 1970s, is having to be held up by thousands of props.
It was not included in a list of 40 hospital rebuilds announced in 2019, but an announcement on whether it will be one of a further eight re-builds is due early this year.
There had been speculation an announcement would be made before Christmas, but it did not come.
And, during a debate on the winter care crisis in the House of Commons on Monday (January 9), North West Norfolk MP James Wild put further pressure on health secretary Steve Barclay over the hospital's future.
Conservative MP Mr Wild said: "Norfolk and Waveney has already received £11m to tackle discharges, which is making a difference.
"However, today there are 128 patients in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn who do not need to be there.
"This additional funding is welcome, but do these pressures not also underline to the Treasury the long-term importance of investing in modern hospitals that are able to meet demand and the case for including the QEH in the new hospitals programme?"
On the first day Parliament returned I pressed the Health Secretary again for a decision on a new @TeamQEH hospital. I’ll keep campaigning for the new 🏥 patients and staff need pic.twitter.com/yoFxEEJurJ
— James Wild MP (@jamesowild) January 10, 2023
Mr Barclay said Mr Wild had campaigned "assiduously" over the importance of addressing RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) hospitals.
He said: "As he will know from my speech at the NHS Providers conference, it is an issue that I very much recognise.
"I have visited the hospital and seen the challenges at first hand. Indeed, my son was born in that hospital, so I know it very well.
"We are discussing that issue with the Treasury and I hope to be in a position to update the House shortly."
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