Ipswich Hospital bids for £98m new maternity building

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 05:02 · Archive

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust is bidding for £98m government funding for a new maternity and neonatal centre at Ipswich Hospital.

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) has submitted a bid to the NHS England Estates Safety Fund for £98m to build a new maternity and neonatal centre at Ipswich Hospital. The current maternity block is a 50-year-old tower block completed in 1969 and opened in 1970. Although it received repairs and a refurbishment in 2019, local figures have called for its replacement.

Labour MP for Ipswich Jack Abbott raised the proposal in Parliament, stating that the local service delivers around 3,000 babies every year but the building has been 'not fit for purpose for many, many years'. He called for the government to support the bid to ensure 'babies and families get the state-of-the-art services that they so desperately need'.

Health Minister Karin Smyth responded positively, saying: 'We're investing unprecedented amounts in capital, giving greater certainty, and very happy to meet with him to discuss the proposal from Ipswich.' She offered to meet Abbott to discuss the bid further. ESNEFT expects to receive a decision on its expression of interest by the end of October 2026. If approved, the funding would allow the trust to develop detailed plans for the new centre.

How it is being reported

• Major £98m Ipswich Hospital upgrade awaits decisionA £98m bid for a new maternity and neonatal centre at Ipswich Hospital is awaiting a decision after MP Jack Abbott raised the plans in Parliament.Ipswich Star · 22 Oct, 04:30
• Bid in for £98m to fund new maternity buildingMP Jack Abbott raises the bid in Parliament, describing the current unit as "not fit for purpose".BBC Suffolk · 21 Oct, 06:43

In this story: Jack Abbott · Karin Smyth · Ipswich Hospital · East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

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