Campaigners have reacted with fury after the chancellor decided not to use his budget to announce a replacement for the country's most dilapidated hospital.
There had been speculation that Jeremy Hunt would use the opportunity to reveal that the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn would be fast-tracked for a new-build, along with others made from the same reinforced concrete planks which are in danger of collapsing.
Mr Hunt was lobbied in person by North West Norfolk MP James Wild and South West Norfolk MP Liz Truss before he delivered his budget.
Both pressed the urgency of the hospital's case. But Mr Hunt's back-to-work budget did not contain any reference to the QEH.
And there is still no indication of when an announcement might be made.
Jo Rust, secretary of the King's Lynn Trades Council, which has led the campaign for a rebuild said: "I'm furious, I just feel they're treating the voters with contempt.
"Norfolk has been ignored, it wasn't mentioned once in the budget."
Mr Wild said: “When I met the chancellor I urged for a decision to include QEH as part of the new hospitals programme to be made by the health secretary as soon after the budget as possible. And I expect certainty to be provided for patients and staff shortly.”
Alice Webster, the hospital's chief executive, said: “Our wait for news on a new QEH hospital continues. We will work with the national New Hospital Programme team and hope to be able to bring positive news in the near future”.
More than 3,000 props and supports are needed to stop the roof of the 500-bed hospital from falling in.
It is still in operation more than 10 years after its expected lifespan and experts warn it will become unsafe to use after 2030.
Plans for an £862m replacement hospital have been drawn up on what is currently the main car park.
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