NHS changes, good rankings and future plans progressing at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn

Hospital CEO Alice Webster talks accolades, change and planning in the monthly Ward Round column…

The NHS has once again been top of the national news with large-scale change happening across the country. We will not be immune to these changes here in Norfolk and Waveney. However, I want to reassure you all that the NHS remains open for business. For us more locally, plans for establishing a group model across the three Norfolk acute hospitals have been published and continue.

An interim group chair will be appointed later this month with group CEO and hospital executive managing directors appointed in April. When these key posts have been filled, a six-month phased implementation of the group board will begin.

At the end of last month, it was announced that The QEH has earned top rankings nationally for its outstanding outcomes and innovative approach to patient care for joint replacement surgery.

Our Trust has now become a leader in the field with patients undergoing partial knee replacements having the shortest hospital stays in the country. Same day discharges are common, meaning people are back on their feet within hours of surgery.

For full knee replacements, The QEH is fourth best for the shortest lengths of stay in hospital and eighth for hip replacements.

These achievements represent a significant transformation, and this success is a testament to the hard work, collaboration and dedication of our multi-disciplinary team, who have worked tirelessly to enhance patient care, streamline procedures, and improve outcomes.

Most importantly, feedback from patients has been overwhelmingly positive.

The New QEH and Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) programmes continue to remain a key focus for our team. We are working with the national New Hospital Programme (NHP) on a revised timeline to make sure our new hospital is open for patients as soon as possible. National timelines for the opening of the New QEH may now be 2031/32. As more detail becomes available we will let you know.

Plans for the multi-storey car park continue to move forward. Our outline business case, which sets out what is required for the project, has been approved by the NHP, allowing us to immediately move onto Full Business Case. On the current timeline, construction is now expected to commence in early 2026.

The national RAAC team and New Hospital team are working together to establish the implications around safety for the RAAC hospitals going beyond 2030. The Government has commissioned site reports for each Trust, and the findings are expected to be ready in summer 2025. We expect this to give us clear guidance on next steps for our current building.

I appreciate all of these changes bring with them uncertainty, and as a Trust we must continue to focus on delivering the best possible care to our patients. As soon as we have more information to share, we will.

In the meantime, I’d like to pass on my sincere thanks to the whole community for your continued support.