During Treasury questions in the House of Commons today, James Wild MP for North West Norfolk urged the Treasury to back plans to include the QEH as one of the new hospitals the government has committed to building by 2030.
As part of his ongoing campaigning for a decision to include QEH as part of the new hospitals programme, James said:
Given the serious condition of Queen Elizabeth hospital in King’s Lynn does the Chancellor agree that it is better value for money to build a new hospital rather than patch it up and will the Treasury back the Department of Health’s plan to do just that and include it in the new hospitals programme?
In response Rt. Hon. John Glen MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury in charge of public spending referred to recent meeting he held with James and said:
As we discussed when we met two weeks ago it is a top priority for us to resolve the profile of spending for the hospitals like his – the RAAC hospitals – that need that urgent work and we are working on it very quickly. But I wouldn’t want to steal the thunder of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care who will make those decisions ultimately.
The Treasury minister statement follows the Health Secretary’s comments to the Health and Social Care select committee on 31 January that “the Department of Health and Social Care was working intently in government with Treasury colleagues to move this forward.”
The Health Secretary has said that solving the RAAC concrete issues facing QEH is his top priority. At the select committee last week, he referred to ongoing work on a more standardised modern method of construction approach to new hospitals would allow certainty in terms of cost and to link it to replacing the RAAC hospitals, including QEH. Lord Markham, Health Minister, is leading this work and James met him a few weeks ago to underline the need for a decision on QEH to give patients and staff certainty.
James will continue to take all opportunities to make the case for QEH with ministers as he has over the last three years.
