Timescale for Raac hospital rebuild under threat

The roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital - which was built in 1980 - is held up by 4,394 props across 56 areas of the hospital

Plans to rebuild a crumbling hospital have suffered a setback after the new health secretary said building 40 new hospitals by 2030 was "not deliverable in that timeframe".

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, was made from prefabricated concrete planks and is held up by props. The Conservatives last year agreed plans for its rebuild.

Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, told Parliament that hospitals made from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or Raac, were "at the top of my list of priorities" but added that he was "not prepared to offer people false hope about how soon".

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has declined to comment.

Demolition work on the hospital's Inspire Centre, to make way for a multi-storey carpark, began in June 2023 - but progress has been slow.

The Conservatives under Boris Johnson had committed to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030 and, during the general election, Labour said it planned to rebuild the Queen Elizabeth within the same timescale.

Demolition work at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital site began last year, as part of a plan to free up space for a new hospital

'The NHS is broken'

Speaking in the Commons, the re-elected Conservative MP for North West Norfolk, James Wild, asked Mr Streeting if he would "honour that pledge.. and approve the business case submitted by the trust for the new multi-storey car park, which is a key enabling project for the new hospital that we need by 2030."

Mr Streeting said: "Hospitals with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete are at the top of my list of priorities."

But he added [the Conservatives] "had a prime minister local to that hospital and they did not do anything when they had the chance".

The James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth was also due to be replaced with a new site by 2030, and has been approached for comment.

A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson said: “The NHS is broken, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the state of some of our crumbling hospitals.

"The Health and Social Care Secretary has asked for an urgent report on the degree to which the New Hospital Programme is funded and a realistic timetable for delivery.

"He will consider this carefully then report back to patients, clinicians, and local communities."