Truss calls for propped-up hospital replacement

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss has written to the health secretary asking for a hospital with a roof held up by 3,600 props to be replaced.

Four out of seven operating theatres have been shut at the Queen Elizabeth in King's Lynn, Norfolk, where the ceiling has to be monitored on a daily basis.

Ms Truss tweeted the main building at the hospital "urgently needs replacing".

The Department of Health and Social Care said the hospital should find out by the end of the year whether it will be rebuilt.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) opened in 1980 and was one of seven built using a material called reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

The material has serious weaknesses and is deteriorating, with uncertainty over its structural integrity leading to more than £100m being spent this financial year on safety measures across the affected sites.

When Ms Truss was prime minster, she would not commit to a new hospital in King's Lynn, but urged the then Health Secretary Therese Coffey to visit the site.

Ms Coffey was replaced by Steve Barclay when Rishi Sunak succeeded Ms Truss, following her resignation as prime minister in October.

Ms Truss, the MP for South West Norfolk, sent the letter to Mr Barclay with fellow Conservatives, MP for North West Norfolk James Wild and Stuart Dark, leader of the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Jo Rust, independent councillor on the borough council, said: "It's very interesting that she's taking this action now that she's a common old backbencher.

"It's a pity that she didn't when she actually had more power and influence.

"Certainly when she was prime minister we'd have expected more action from her."

In 2020, the government announced 40 hospitals would be built by 2030 as part of a package worth £3.7bn, with a further eight schemes invited to bid for future funding.

The trust has since made a bid and is waiting to hear if it will be one of those eight across England chosen to get a new hospital.

The Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement: "Patient and staff safety is our top priority and we have invested record sums to upgrade NHS buildings and facilities, so that trusts can continue to provide the best possible quality of care.

"This includes allocating £750,000 to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in June 2020 for critical infrastructure repairs.

"We have received an expression of interest for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to become one of the remaining eight new hospital schemes to be announced.

"We aim to announce a final decision before the end of the year."

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