Bid in for £98m to fund new maternity building

A decision on a bid for a new £98m maternity building at Ipswich Hospital to replace a 50-year-old tower block will be made by the end of the month.

An East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) spokesperson told the BBC an "expression of interest" had been made to NHS England Estates Safety Fund for national funding for a new maternity and neonatal centre.

Health Minister Karin Smyth was asked about the bid in Parliament on Tuesday.

She said: "We're investing unprecedented amounts in capital, giving greater certainty, and very happy to meet with him to discuss the proposal from Ipswich."

The Labour MP for Ipswich, Jack Abbott, who asked the question, said: "Our local services support the delivery of around about 3,000 babies every single year, but this building has been not 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?"

Smyth responded by saying she would meet him to discuss it further.

The tower block was completed in 1969 and opened in 1970.

In 2019 it was given a facelift and repaired, but was described by Abbott as "not fit for purpose".

The BBC contacted the ESNEFT for comment and it confirmed the bid, adding: "We are expecting to hear the outcome in late October 2026."

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