Former Health Secretary Steve Barclay attacks Labour over its delay of King’s Lynn hospital rebuild
Former Health Secretary Steve Barclay has accused the area’s Labour MPs of failing to keep their word on the rebuilding of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn.
Posting on social media the North East Cambridgeshire MP described the need for a new hospital on the Queen Elizabeth site as “hugely important locally” – the hospital serves people from the Fenland area including Wisbech.
He said: “Building a new hospital on the Queen Elizabeth hospital site in Kings Lynn is hugely important locally given the damage to the concrete of the existing building which currently requires steel props for support.”
The hospital’s building is currently crumbling having been built using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) and is propped up by more than 2,400 wooden and steel posts.
Mr Barclay, who served as Secretary for Health twice during the 14 years of a Conservative government, has questioned why the Labour Government is demanding a further engineering study before construction can begin.
But Labour’s South West Norfolk MP Terry Jermy hit back questioning why Mr Barclay did not do more to expedite the rebuilding of the QEH when he was Health Secretary and his party was in power for 14 years.
It had been hoped that would begin on a multi-storey car park at the QEH in the early part of this year.
Earlier this month Labour’s Health Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed plans for the rebuilding of the QEH but he pushed the start date back to 2027/2028 meaning it will not be open until 2032 at the earliest.
Mr Streeting’s announcement sparked concerns from patient groups but he promised “If we can go faster, we will go faster”.
However, Mr Barclay does not feel that is good enough and in his statement, he said: “Following an engineering report which showed concerns with the current building, as Secretary of State for Health I announced in the House of Commons in May 2023 that a new hospital would be built in King’s Lynn.
“This was confirmed with the Treasury and with senior health officials that funding would be prioritised within the NHS to do so. As a result, the building team at King’s Lynn have been working on their plans and was due to start constructing the new hospital next year, the Labour Government is now causing huge anxiety and confusion over when building work will start.
“By saying it needs a further engineering study before any construction can begin. Labour Ministers have not said why another report is needed, how many months the report will take, or how long it will be before construction work begins. Yet, as any patient who has visited King’s Lynn hospital knows, this work needs to be done as a priority.
“The Conservative Government made a clear commitment to rebuild both Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn by 2030. We already have a report stating that this work is essential, and patients can see for themselves when they visit the hospitals.
“We do not need another report. At the General Election Labour candidates promised they would keep my funding priority in place for the new hospitals at King’s Lynn and Huntingdon by 2030.
“There is no excuse not to proceed with the original timeline, nor is there any excuse for the silence from the Labour Mayor of Cambridgeshire and local Labour MPs on this delay.”
But Mr Jermy was having none of Mr Barclay’s accusations and responding to the neighbouring MPs criticism of his Government, said: “I have been campaigning from day one as the new MP for South West Norfolk to get the Queen Elizabeth Hospital rebuilt as quickly as possible, and have held a number of meetings with the Health Secretary and other Ministers since last July.
“This hospital remains a priority for myself and the Labour Government. It is a disgrace that the previous Conservative Government failed to make better progress with the QEH and other RAAC hospitals during their long 14 years in Government.
“Even when local MPs like Steve Barclay served briefly as the Health Secretary and my own predecessor as Prime Minister they failed to give the QEH the focus it deserved and the 2030 date became increasingly unachievable. Like with so many issues - the new Government is having to pick up the pieces from their failures and fix our broken public services.”
Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has also been asked for a response to Mr Barclay’s comments.