King's Lynn: Jeremy Corbyn backs protesters' calls for hospital rebuild

Jeremy Corbyn said the hospital in King's Lynn needed fixing quickly

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joined about 150 protesters to back their urgent calls for a new hospital.

The independent MP attended the rally in King's Lynn, Norfolk, on Saturday as the campaign to rebuild the town's Queen Elizabeth Hospital continues.

About 200 steel props are holding up its aging roof, with Mr Corbyn saying: "It's got to be fixed and... quickly."

The Department of Health reiterated its previous statement and said £20m had been given for "immediate issues".

Almost 200 props are being used to hold up the roof at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn

In October the government pledged to build 40 new hospitals, but King's Lynn was not on the list.

A further eight hospitals to be rebuilt are due to revealed soon, but the government has not confirmed if the Queen Elizabeth will be among them.

Mr Corbyn said: "If your house or my house - the roof was so unstable - we had to have props in our living room, kitchen… to keep the roof up, we'd do something about it.

"It's simply not safe to have a roof that is in danger of collapsing unless it has props to hold it up."

Local trades council secretary Jo Rust said a new district hospital building was "desperately" needed

The rally was organised by the King's Lynn and District Trades Council to mark the NHS's 73rd birthday.

Trades council secretary and co-organiser Jo Rust said: "We're using this opportunity to highlight the need for a new hospital in King's Lynn.

"We really want to raise awareness for a total rebuild... we desperately need a new hospital."

Hospital board papers, discussed in April, told how the failing roof posed a "direct risk to the life and safety of patients".

The county council has also backed a motion to urge the health secretary to "approve a new hospital" and fast-track it.

In a statement, originally released in April, the Department of Health said £3.7bn was being spent on building 40 hospitals and encouraged other trusts to develop plans.

"To help address the immediate issues at the... estate more than £20 million has been provided this year," it said.

"The trust has also received £750,000 to prioritise and address its most urgent backlog maintenance."

In May, former health secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC he was looking at the case for rebuilding the 40-year-old hospital, designed to last 25 years.

The government said in April that the hospital had been given £20m to address immediate concerns

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