Construction of new West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds expected to begin between 2027 to 2028
Construction of the new West Suffolk Hospital is expected to begin between 2027 to 2028 following a Government review.
The new-build is needed as the current hospital was built in the 1970s and has defects associated with RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete).
Dr Peter Prinsley, MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, said it was ‘fantastic news’ that the ‘desperately needed scheme will be under way’.
He said ‘after years of false hope, residents will breathe a sigh of relief that we finally have a timetable for delivery thanks to Labour’.
Uncertainty surrounded the new facility after Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced a major review into the New Hospital Programme in mid-July.
He described previous proposals by the Conservatives to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 as ‘unfunded and set to a fictional timeline’.
Following the review, Mr Streeting said the Government had secured five-year waves of investment, ‘ensuring there is always a balanced portfolio of hospital schemes at different development stages being delivered now and into the future’.
The Government said schemes affected by RAAC ‘will continue to proceed at pace’.
West Suffolk Hospital is in wave one.
Mr Streeting said: “Since the election, Dr Peter Prinsley has been banging the drum day and night for the rebuild of West Suffolk Hospital.
“The New Hospital Programme we inherited was unfunded and undeliverable. Not a single new hospital was built in the past five years, and there was no credible plan to build forty in the next five years.
“When I walked into the Department of Health and Social Care, I was told that the funding for the New Hospitals Programme runs out in March. We were determined to put the programme on a firm footing, so we can build the new hospitals our NHS needs.
“Now we are setting out an honest, funded and deliverable programme to rebuild our NHS. I am committed to delivering West Suffolk Hospital and rebuilding our NHS.”
