Plans for new West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds will go-ahead, Government confirms

Plans for a new West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds will go-ahead and will be unaffected by a Government review.

There has been uncertainty around the new facility, to be built on the town’s Hardwick Manor site, after Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced a major review into the New Hospital Programme in mid-July.

He described previous proposals to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 as ‘unfunded and set to a fictional timeline’.

Work on the review has been ongoing and today the Government has confirmed that 21 of the 46 schemes listed under the New Hospital Programme will not be in scope.

This includes West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds, which will continue works as planned, pending any outstanding funding approvals.

The new-build is needed as the current hospital was built in the 1970s and has defects associated with RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete).

Schemes that are out of scope and will not be considered as part of the review are:

- Those with approved full business cases for their main construction phase.

- The seven hospitals, including West Suffolk, which are wholly or mostly constructed from RAAC, to protect patient and staff safety.

Although these schemes are outside of the NHP review, full business case approval for each will still be needed to provide funding confirmation.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We inherited a New Hospital Programme that is undeliverable and unfunded. We will be honest with patients and will put the programme on a sustainable footing.

“Patient safety is our priority, so RAAC-affected hospitals, alongside those where the full business cases is already approved, will not form part of the review and will continue as planned.

“We are reassessing the rest of the programme to ensure every scheme has clear evidence of how it will be funded alongside a realistic timeline for delivery.

“This, alongside the fundamental reforms that will be introduced in our 10-year plan, will ensure we build an NHS that is fit for the future.”

Twenty five schemes are in scope of the ongoing NHP review, the outcome of which will be confirmed as part of the Spending Review process.

Peter Prinsley, Bury St Edmunds MP, had asked Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, during Prime Minister's Questions on September 4, if he agreed that hospitals affected by structural issues must be prioritised.

The Prime Minster said hospitals with RAAC, including West Suffolk Hospital, must be a priority.

Speaking to SuffolkNews today, Mr Prinsley said the decision was good news for the town.

“I was optimistic they would keep this out of the review because the situation with these hospitals (with RAAC) was a different order of magnitude,” he said.

Dr Ewen Cameron, chief executive of West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT), said: “The trust welcomes the Government’s announcement today to prioritise the replacement of RAAC hospitals, such as West Suffolk Hospital, which they’ve confirmed to be outside of the scope of the current New Hospital Programme review.

“This is good news for our patients, staff and communities in and around West Suffolk.

“We continue progressing our plans to deliver a replacement West Suffolk Hospital on the adjacent Hardwick Manor site in Bury St Edmunds.

“Working closely with the Government’s New Hospital Programme team, we will ensure the project is completed in the most effective way.”

The trust said it remains on track to deliver the new healthcare facility in 2030.

In July, papers to the hospital trust’s board said the West Suffolk Hospital project remained a priority and was the most advanced of the RAAC projects.

WSFT is the only RAAC trust to have its strategic case agreed, to have received funding for the development for its outline business case and for enabling works which support full planning permission and the ability to start construction.

A temporary access road has been completed, which will connect the old hospital site in Hardwick Lane with the Hardwick Manor development site.