Media Release

Government reaffirms commitment to New QEH

Communications Teamby
A revised New Hospital Programme (NHP) plan, reaffirming the rebuild of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn (QEH) as a key priority project, was released by the Government yesterday (Monday 20 January).

This announcement gives the Trust a clear, structured pathway towards delivering a modern, innovative, and future-ready hospital that provides the highest quality care for patients and the best possible working environment for staff.

Alice Webster, CEO at The QEH, said: “The revised plan will allow us to move forward with confidence and focus, ensuring we continue to progress at pace.

“We remain committed to delivering a new hospital for our local community. The timescales in this plan indicate our new hospital will not meet the previous deadline of 2030 – we have been nationally assured that work is under way to prioritise bringing these timescales forward where possible.

“As a Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) hospital the safety of our current building remains our priority and our failsafing programme is progressing well. Yesterday’s announcement outlines the need for site-by-site survey report commissioned by the Government on each RAAC hospital – we await more information on this work.”

Key highlights from released plan are:

  • Patient-centred: Plans are built around patient care, safety, and experience with services designed to meet the needs of the local community.
  • Modern construction methods: Embracing innovative building techniques, to deliver an efficient, sustainable and future-proofed hospital.
  • Financial confidence: A phased funding approach giving the stability needed to plan and deliver effectively.
  • Collaboration and engagement: Working closely with NHS England, regional partners, and the local community to build a hospital fit for generations to come.

Tracey Bleakley, Chief Executive of NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB, said: “We have already done a lot of work locally to plan for the two new hospitals and we will do everything we can to get them built as quickly as we can. In the meantime, our absolute priority will be to ensure that services continue to run safely and effectively at the existing hospitals until the new buildings are ready.”

Ends.

Notes to editors; For media enquiries only, please contact Communications Team, media.enquiries@qehkl.nhs.uk or 01553 613216. For all other enquiries, please contact QEH Switchboard on 01553 613613.