Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, has been ranked the worst of 134 acute hospital trusts in England after a government analysis made public this week highlighted widespread performance and estate concerns.
The hospital, which opened in 1980 and serves about 250,000 local residents, is using thousands of temporary props to support ceilings made from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), has poor emergency department and cancer-treatment waiting times and was judged to “require improvement” by the Care Quality Commission at its most recent inspection.
Government rankings released publicly for the first time scored trusts across seven areas, including waiting times for operations, cancer treatment, time spent in A&E and ambulance response. The new National Oversight Framework data placed 107 of 134 acute trusts in the two lowest tiers, leaving 27 in the top two tiers. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said publishing the scores would "end the postcode lottery" of care and help pinpoint where urgent help is required.
At Queen Elizabeth, trust figures and regulator findings point to multiple shortfalls. In the latest available data, 52.1 percent of A&E patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours in July, below the 95 percent guideline. For cancer care, 53.4 percent of newly diagnosed patients referred for urgent treatment were seen within two months against an 85 percent target; 86.9 percent of patients started treatment within 31 days, short of a 96 percent goal. The trust also missed the target for informing at least 75 percent of patients with suspected cancer whether they do or do not have the disease, at 70 percent.
Patients and staff have described alarming conditions linked to the RAAC roof panels that were widely used in public buildings between the 1950s and 1990s. The material is weaker than traditional concrete and is known to have a limited lifespan. The trust has reported using 8,598 steel and timber support props across 56 areas of the hospital as part of a multi-year RAAC safety programme. Staff have checked weak spots daily, and leaks have been managed with buckets, according to accounts given to local media.
Former and current patients told regional and national outlets they had been frightened by cracking sounds from creaky roofs during overnight stays. One former patient described loud crackling noises; another patient who spoke to a tabloid said the emergency department had “no air conditioning” and found conditions “awful.” A woman who attended the hospital’s early pregnancy unit after bleeding at almost 11 weeks in 2023 said she felt dismissed and later learned she had miscarried; she told reporters she had lost faith in the hospital.
Trust records show estate pressures have coincided with operational and financial strain. In November the hospital closed 60 of 250 beds to save about £5.5 million, redirecting some funds to community care. The trust’s then-chief operating officer was instructed to find £29.5 million of savings for the 2024–25 financial year, one of the largest requirements in the country, according to the Health Service Journal.
The trust was placed in special measures in 2018, with particular concerns about maternity services, and was taken out of those arrangements in 2022. The CQC’s most recent inspection raised issues with surgery, end-of-life care and outpatient services.
The government previously flagged the building as unsafe after 2030 and committed the hospital to its New Hospital Programme. The planned rebuild, estimated at about £862 million and originally slated to begin in 2025, has been delayed by up to three years; the new hospital is now expected to open around 2032, the trust said. Paul Brooks, director of estates and facilities at Queen Elizabeth, said the trust had been prioritised for rebuild and remained in the design phase.
Chris Brown, the trust’s interim executive managing director, apologised for areas where the hospital had fallen short and said “immediate steps are being taken to address the issues.” He said the trust was working closely with the newly formed Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group, NHS England and regulators to deliver urgent improvements and to support staff working under challenging conditions.
The release of the oversight rankings aims to allow patients to identify which local NHS services are underperforming and where support should be targeted. Nationally, the Health Secretary said patients “know when local services aren’t up to scratch” and that transparency would help end regional disparities in care. The data underlines broader pressures across the health service as many trusts contend with ageing estates, staffing and financial constraints while coping with increasing demand.