Campaign group’s ‘Meet 2030’ QEH deadline message to government

Hospital campaigners who have relaunched their efforts met on Thursday to push for the original 2030 rebuild completion date to be met.The new message to the Government from the Save the QEH campaign group is: “Meet 2030”.A spokesperson said: “The campaign group, comprising councillors, trade union members and concerned members of the public, agreed to restart the campaign with a ‘Meet 2030’ message – 2030 is the year which will officially see the hospital as obsolete.”

And, in a bid get its message across, the group will be meeting outside the Lynn hospital on Monday, February 17 at 1pm calling on Health Secretary Wes Streeting to release the funding which will enable work to start of the planned new multi-storey car park – which is a key part of the hospital rebuild.Areas of the crumbling QEH are being held up by thousands of props and the hospital is the most “propped-up” in the country.The RAAC-built (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) QEH was build with a 40-year lifespan which has already been exceeded by five years, and 2030 was the deadline date previously given for when the new hospital would open. The Labour government has now given a predicted completion date of 2033 and campaigners fear this could put patient and staff safety at risk.Jo Rust, a key member of the Save the QEH group, said: “While we were all relieved when it was announced that the RAAC-built QEH would be prioritised by the new government, we are disappointed and extremely concerned to hear of this delay, which makes no sense whatsoever. “If they accept and acknowledge that it needs rebuilding, why the delay?“There’s been a distinct lack of investment in the infrastructure of the hospital in the past, delaying the funding merely exacerbates an already difficult situation for the staff working there and the management trying to deal with the matter.“Our message to government is clear, no more delays, release the funding now.” Although there was relief when the government announced the QEH build is to still go ahead, the delay has sparked concerns.Ms Rust told the Lynn News last week: “We’ve been told throughout that the remedial work will make the QEH safe for now, but that it won’t extend or prolong the life of the hospital.”North West Norfolk MP James Wild has also expressed his concern at the delay and vowed to carry on fighting for the QEH, while South West Norfolk MP Terry Jermy previously said he was “delighted” that a completion date had been set.Mr Wild recently met with the health minister, the new hospitals programme team and the QEH to review progress on the new build plans. Following this, he posted on social media saying he had been assured by the minister the Department of Health will be going “faster if it is possible” on the scheme and there were “no funding issues that would prevent that”.He said he was also assured the site survey of the QEH to provide an assessment of RAAC issues will “not prevent other approvals including the new multi-storey car park”.“A new QEH remains my top priority,” he said.