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Unity in the fight for a new King’s Lynn hospital




One of the first columns I wrote after returning to the Lynn News last summer was one calling for a new Queen Elizabeth Hospital to serve Lynn, West Norfolk and the surrounding areas.

I hadn’t suddenly had an epiphany or visited the place and been struck with a realisation shared with no-one else.

Nope, I’d been taken around the place by former deputy CEO Laura Skaife-Knight and was simply adding my voice to those of hundreds of others who knew the need to replace a hospital dangerously close to literally falling down was reaching crisis point.

King's Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be rebuilt after it was included in the Government's New Hospital Programme. Picture: Queen Elizabeth Hospital
King's Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be rebuilt after it was included in the Government's New Hospital Programme. Picture: Queen Elizabeth Hospital

And finally, on Thursday, and after several false dawns that many readers won’t be aware of, the £862million rebuild plans were pushed over the line and we have been promised a new hospital will be in operation by 2030.

And the fight for a new QEH was one which united the community. Although there were many different factions fighting, they were all pulling in the same direction and aiming for the same results.

MP James Wild tirelessly lobbied his own Conservative Government from the back benches, then-West Norfolk Council leader Stuart Dark wrote to the Government and met senior Downing Street officials, and independent councillor Jo Rust arranged and took part in regular protests, along with other councillors.

Senior figures at the hospital were also vociferous, you the public backed all the campaigns in your thousands and the Lynn News, Your Local Paper and our local radio stations relayed those messages.

All that hard work was worthwhile in the end. Our voices were heard in Parliament, democracy does work and we should have a new hospital up and running in six years’ time.



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