The EDP revealed this week that discussions were under way over the future of the units at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn.

This is part of a wider clinical strategy to combine services with the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and the James Paget site in Great Yarmouth.

The Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group, which manages all three sites, has stressed that no decision has yet been made on the fate of the departments.

The QEH was rated the worst-performing hospital in the country last year (Image: Supplied)

However the ongoing discussions over their future has prompted an outcry.

A petition calling for the services to be retained has already attracted thousands of signatures, while politicians have been piling pressure on the group to give further details.

They are concerned that west Norfolk patients - including those needing life-saving care - will have to travel as far as Norwich, Peterborough or Thetford for treatment.

The QEH has been struggling for years and was rated the worst-performing hospital in the country last year.

The building also suffers from serious structural problems and large parts of it are kept from collapsing by thousands of scaffold poles.

It is set to be rebuilt by 2032, with a £1.4 billion plan in place.

The QEH currently employs 3,700 full-time staff (Image: QEH)

However, if the A&E, ICU and maternity wards are axed, it is likely to throw the current designs into doubt.

The group has reiterated that "urgent and emergency 24/7 care" will continue to be provided at the QEH, though this could mean a number of scaled-down alternatives.

A petition........

© Eastern Daily Press