Hospital rebuild set to begin next year in bid to hit 2030 deadline

Work to construct the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital is expected to begin in the middle of next year.In a major update, bosses at the hospital have told the Lynn News that they still expect to hit the 2030 deadline for completion – with just five years now left to hit that target.Final designs are being drawn up for the multi-storey car park, and building work is set to kick off this summer.

This news comes after a year of uncertainty, which saw funding for the project put on hold by the new Labour Government before being reconfirmed due to the “urgency” required to replace the current crumbling building.Paul Brooks, director of estates and facilities and senior responsible officer for the new QEH, told the Lynn News: “Our teams continue to work hard to reach our 2030 deadline.“In October 2024 our Strategic Outline Case, which outlines why we need a new hospital, was signed off by the QEH board having been signed off by the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board in September. “We also appointed a team of experts, who specialise in healthcare design, as our design team. This group have a wealth of experience in healthcare design for major national and international projects and will be driving forward designs for the new QEH this year.“Plans and final designs are continuing for our multi-storey car park on the site of the Inspire Centre, which was demolished in June 2023. “The car park will be built in one phase with work expected to start in mid-2025, with completion expected in mid-2026.“This allows for us to begin work on the main hospital building in mid-2026. Our focus remains the same – to open the doors to a new QEH in 2030.”The QEH is considered in a critical condition because it was built using reinforced autoclaved aerated concret. It is currently the most propped-up hospital in the country. It has at least 4,394 steel and timber support props in 56 areas holding up its roof – and 2030 is considered the year when it will no longer be safe to use.The rebuild will take place on the existing site, despite some debate over whether a new location would be more suitable.The current site emerged as the “clear choice” for a rebuild, according to hospital bosses, as it offers a “deliverable programme period, value for money and the best potential for patient care, both in the future and until the new hospital opens for business”.