King's Lynn hospital begins work on £12.5m endoscopy unit

The new unit could be open to patients next year

Work has started to build a new £12.5m endoscopy unit at a hospital which has had problems with its roof.

The funding is part of a £20.6m emergency national capital investment to modernise Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

The trust said its "buildings are in a desperate state".

It has been pushing for funds for a completely new hospital but said it was crucial to invest in the building in the meantime.

The hospital said the £20.6m investment would "provide the necessary space to allow the movement of wards and the installation of failsafes where needed in the hospital (to reduce the risk of reinforced autoclaved concrete (RAAC) plank failures) which will further improve the safety and delivery of some services".

Almost 200 props were being used to hold up the roof of the hospital, which was built in the 1960s.

Earlier this year, almost 200 props were being used to hold up the roof at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Caroline Shaw CBE, the chief executive of QEH, said: "...Our hospital buildings are in a desperate state.

"They have reached the end of their life.

"We are trying to secure government funding for a full new hospital - one that is fit for the future and one our patients and staff deserve - knowing this is the only sustainable solution for the QEH."

Hospital bosses want a complete new facility built in the north Norfolk town

She said if a brand new hospital was approved, "the very earliest we would expect the new hospital to open its doors would be 2029".

Ms Shaw said, including the emergency national capital funding, more than £30m was being invested in QEH.

In addition to the new endoscopy unit, works planned for 2021/22 include a new outpatient facility, ward refurbishment, a new maternity bereavement suite and new MRI scanners.

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