James Wild MP welcomes announcement that QEH is exempt from the New Hospital Programme review and the project will proceed at pace given safety issues.
In a letter to James Wild MP regarding the review of the New Hospitals Programme the Health Secretary has said that central to the review is recognition “the hospitals built primarily from Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) need to be replaced as a priority, to protect patient and staff safety.”
He has announced that as a result the seven critical hospitals – including QEH - with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) will be out of scope of the review and “will proceed at pace due to the substantive safety risks associated with these.” These schemes were previously prioritised by the last Conservative government.
Commenting on the statement from the Health Secretary on the New Hospitals Programme James Wild MP said:
“It is very welcome news for patients and NHS staff that the government has listened to the concerns about QEH and finally agreed this scheme will proceed at pace so we have the new hospital we need. The last Conservative government prioritised QEH due to RAAC and I'm pleased this news will lift the uncertainty caused by the initial announcement of a review after the general election.
“I’ll continue working with the QEH Trust and others to ensure we have the new hospital by 2030 for our community.”
