Protests over hospital rebuild continue as wait for announcement goes on

The Save Our Queen Elizabeth Hospital campaigners are continuing calls for funding of a new hospital to be built in replacement of the current QEH in Lynn.

Protesters of all generations carry on gathering outside the hospital every Wednesday afternoon either in their spare time or on lunch breaks, whatever the weather, to hold up signs for the passing traffic and will continue this until an announcement is made.

Back in 2021, it was anticipated that the campaign was only going to last for nine to 12 months, but it has continued for an extra 13 months.

This comes after the hospital has well and truly exceeded its initial design limit of lasting just 30 years, after being opened in 1980 as a temporary hospital.

Jo Rust, Head of Save Our QEH Campaign, said: “The hospital was only designed to last for 30 years and we had the same MP from 1983 to 2019, who knew how long the hospital was expected to last and he did nothing about it.”

The 43-year-old hospital has major structural issues with more than 4,000 props holding the roof up – with this number expected to keep on increasing as the wait goes on.

A regular protester, Peter Smith, has explained how a new hospital is becoming crucial.

“The condition is bad, very bad, it’s deteriorating day by day,” he said.

“And unless we join this campaign and make a noise and get the public to push for it, nothing’s going to happen.”

Jo added: “As our local population grows and our healthcare needs change and evolve, our current hospital cannot meet our healthcare needs.

“Even if the fabric of the building was 100% perfect, we’d still need to add more buildings to meet our needs.

“This can be evidenced by the addition of the new Endoscopy Unit and the West Norfolk Eyecare Unit.

“As our hospital building is actually falling down, we must have a new building which is modern, fit for purpose and has the hundreds of additional bed places that we need to take us into the future.”

Meanwhile Alice Webster, CEO of the QEH, has said there is still no immediate sign of an announcement.

“As I’m sure many of you will be aware, our wait on news for a new hospital continues,” she said.

“We share the sense of frustration within our community at the lack of news, but I can say we remain hopeful we will be able to bring you an update this year of progress made at a national level.”