The NHS trust in charge of Ipswich Hospital has applied for £98million in funding to enable the construction of a new maternity block.
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) is set to hear the outcome of its application to the NHS England Estates Safety Fund later this month.
If successful, the trust would look to build a new maternity and neonatal centre, replacing its more than 50-year-old maternity tower.
Ipswich’s Labour MP, Jack Abbott, called on the Health Secretary to back the application in a recent question in parliament.
He said: “Our local services support the delivery of around about 3,000 babies every single year, but this building has not been fit for purpose for many, many years.
“So, will the Secretary of State support our bid for a new maternity wing at Ipswich Hospital to make sure that babies and families get the state of the art services that they so desperately need?”
Health Minister Karin Smyth said she would be happy to meet with Abbott to discuss the application.
The £6.75bn Estates Safety Fund was announced as part of the government’s 2025 Spending Review and allocates capital to critical infrastructure and safety risks in NHS hospital buildings.
That includes but is not limited to fixes to leaking roofs, upgrades to faulty electrical wiring and other schemes identified by NHS trusts as local priorities.
An ESNEFT spokesman confirmed the trust expects to hear the outcome of its application in late October.
