Health minister visits New Hospital Programme schemes

Health Minister Lord Markham has visited three hospitals across the East of England, which have been prioritised to be rebuilt by 2030 due to the significant amount of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the hospitals.

Lord Markham visited West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, where over £11 million has already been spent preparing the site ready for construction, and the development of its business case.

At Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Lord Markham discussed the rebuild of the hospital. The trust has been allocated nearly £80 million since 2021 for works to mitigate and minimise the risk of RAAC on patient and staff safety, including propping.

He also visited Hinchingbrooke Hospital near Huntingdon, which has been given over £43 million of funding on works to mitigate the impact and risks it poses to patient and staff safety since 2021.

Lord Markham said: "We are investing in new NHS facilities across the country so patients can access high quality care in state-of-the-art hospitals, both now and in the years to come.

"The East of England will benefit from seven new hospitals by 2030 and this week I’ve been visiting some of the sites which will be prioritised due to the presence of RAAC. I’ve enjoyed speaking to patient, staff and local leaders across the region about the plans and progress These which will help to improve safety as well as care and allow patients to be seen more quickly. This is a fundamental part of our plan to cut waiting lists – one of the government’s top five priorities.

"In the long term, our new standardised design means we can rapidly replicate new hospitals across the country, helping to speed up construction and deliver on our commitment of 40 new hospitals by 2030."

HelenBuckle, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons