Prioritise funding for a new hospital for King's Lynn & West Norfolk

A new hospital for King's Lynn & West Norfolk should be prioritised for funding in forthcoming funding announcements, and support provided to fast-track its design and build, to ensure the area has a modern, fit-for-purpose hospital that meets the needs of patients, staff and visitors.

Our local Queen Elizabeth Hospital is still in use well past its intended operational lifespan.

Papers published by the hospital Board show that there are 200 props presently holding up the roof of the hospital to ensure safety.

Staff deliver quality care in spite of these dreadful conditions, and £20m emergency government funding is welcome, but does not adequately address the issue, only the interim safety concerns.

A new hospital, at the heart of the community, is vital and will play a huge role in the region's integrated care system now and in the future.

We fully recognise the need to invest in improving health infrastructure across the country, including where Trusts have identified significant issues. Application for new hospitals need to be part of the programme for new hospitals and follow the formal application process. This requires service planning and prioritisation at system level through their Integrated Care Systems (ICSs). Applications for 8 further new hospital schemes have recently been submitted to the department and are currently under review. Funding for new hospitals beyond this commitment will depend on future capital funding settlements through the Treasury Spending Review.

Our Health Infrastructure Plan, first published in September 2019, is a strategic long-term investment to ensure our world-class healthcare system and staff have the world-class facilities needed for the future.

We have committed to build 40 new hospitals by 2030, backed by an initial £3.7 billion. Together with eight existing schemes, this will mean 48 hospitals by the end of the decade, the biggest hospital building programme in a generation.

The 48 hospitals we will build, in addition to the 20 upgrades to hospitals already promised, together represent investment infrastructure across the whole country, another example of this Government’s mission to level up.

These commitments will result in outdated infrastructure being replaced by facilities for both staff and patients that are the cutting edge of modern technology, innovation and sustainability, driving excellence in patient care.