Hospital rebuild to continue at pace - Chancellor

The future of West Suffolk Hospital was mentioned during Chancellor Rachel Reeves's Budget address in the House of Commons

Plans to rebuild a hospital containing concrete at risk of collapse “will continue at pace”, the Chancellor has promised.

West Suffolk Hospital was said to have a significant amount of Raac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) in its roof and walls back in 2023.

The Bury St Edmunds complex, one of many buildings containing the material, was one of 40 hospitals the former government promised to rebuild by 2030.

After Labour moved into Downing Street, doubts were cast over the future of the project, but Chancellor Rachael Reeves confirmed it would go ahead during her Budget speech.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged a "record injection of funding" for the NHS during her Budget speech

She said: “Many NHS buildings have been left in a state of disrepair, so we will address the backlog of repairs and upgrades across our NHS.

“I can tell the House [of Commons] today that work will continue at pace to deliver those seven hospitals affected by the Raac crisis."

She said this included Leighton Hospital in Crewe, Cheshire, as well as West Suffolk Hospital.

Bosses at the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust previously said there had been “extensive and robust” work to mitigate any impact of the Raac.

They also reassured patients and visitors that the building was “safe” and they should “feel confident to continue” to attend appointments and procedures.

Plans for the new West Suffolk Hospital include therapeutic gardens and parking

The Chancellor set aside what she described as a “record injection of funding” to improve the NHS across the board.

“The state of the NHS we have inherited means reform must come along investment,” added Ms Reeves.

“So, I can announce, I am providing a £22.6bn increase to the day-to-day health budget and a £3.1bn increase in the capital budget over this year and next year.

“To increase capacity for tens of thousands more procedures we will provide a further £1.5bn so people waiting for their treatment can get it as quickly as possible.”