Staff at Lynn’s hospital have denied reports that they check the weather forecast before giving beds to their patients.
An article in national newspaper the i published over the weekend quoted anonymous team members at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as it focused on the crumbling building – issues already covered at length by the Lynn News over the past few years.
In the report, one medic told the i that a past incident had seen a bed space withdrawn after water leaked onto a patient – and that it was “returned to use the following day after maintenance staff said the weather forecast had been checked to show no further rain was expected”.
However, a hospital spokesperson has now assured the Lynn News that staff have never been told to use the weather forecast when deciding whether or not to admit patients.
Troubles at the QEH have been well documented in recent years, leading to its reputation as the most propped-up hospital in the country – with 4,394 steel and timber fail-safes currently in place.
However, in May this year, Health Secretary Steve Barclay announced its addition to the Government’s New Hospital Programme – meaning a new building should be constructed by 2030.
The article in the i quoted a senior doctor who described a “permanent sense of anxiety” among staff, as well as a long-serving nurse who is worried about a propped-up toilet.
Paul Brooks, director of estates and facilities at the hospital, said: “The QEH has implemented an intense installation programme over the past two years to create a steel and support structure to maintain the safety of the roof, for our patients, visitors and staff.
“Working round the clock with a skilled engineering teams and surveyors who carry out daily structural checks across our estate, we are effectively creating a steel skeleton inside the hospital to support the integrity of the building, maximising safety.
“We appreciate it can be disconcerting for our patients and visitors when they see and hear building work taking place during their visit. Teams across the trust are doing their upmost to keep disruption to a minimum while still delivering the highest levels of care.”
