Today the Manchester Evening News calls on the government to commit to the urgent rebuilding of North Manchester General Hospital – and a once-in-a-generation chance to bring opportunity to those who live in one of our most deprived areas.
Five years after Boris Johnson promised to transform NMGH – which has some of the oldest buildings in the NHS – we STILL don’t know when the desperately-needed work will begin.
Health secretary Wes Streeting had suggested the redevelopment would go ahead but the plans have now been called in for review by the government and no firm commitment has been made.
Meanwhile the situation on the ground has reached an intolerable point, with conditions likened to ‘a 19th century workhouse’:
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Some operating theatres were forced to close for weeks after ceilings collapsed, others had to shut because of poor ventilation which could have increased the risk of infection
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Clinics for pregnant mums had to be relocated because of visible mould on the walls from leaking roofs
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Lack of single rooms means dying patients have to be moved to open wards because of the demand for isolation space for people who are infectious
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Consideration has to be given to which patients can be put on wards on upper floors as they need to be mobile in case the need to be evacuated because of fire
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There is a significant lack of space for outpatient wards which impacts on clinics
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Many of the buildings are plagued with dangerous RAAC concrete
There is no suggestion that the hospital would close, but the need for redevelopment is critical.
Staff tell of problems ‘every single day’ caused by the ageing estate – and money is being used just to keep buildings functional, effectively just to ‘stand still’.
There are sophisticated rebuilding plans which would transform the hospital into a centre of NHS excellence.
But this development is about far more than just buildings. It has the potential to be the catalyst for change in one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country.
Tackling health inequalities is the “holy grail”. Health experts believe this investment could actually make the dream a reality: bringing jobs and housing, and supporting people on long term sickness back into work. It could drastically improve lives in an area where people die younger and live in ill health longer – an area where people lose a decade compared to those in other parts of the country.
The full plans would turn the ageing buildings into a health ‘campus’. It would include:
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A new, fully-modernised district general hospital with a refurbished A&E, walk-in centre, labour wards, operating theatres, x-ray and outpatients facilities, where care and treatment is closely integrated with community services and supported by state of the art digital systems and remote monitoring
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An education hub to attract, train and develop the region’s best doctors, nurses, and health care workers
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New housing which could include worker accommodation, social housing, and step down care for those not ill enough to be in hospital and not well enough to be at home
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A wellbeing hub to deliver community-based care and support with a café, allotments and a village green
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Shops and offices which would stimulate local business and jobs
But while there have been repeated promises, no government has wholly committed to funding the work and a date for it to begin.
We say this must change – hospital bosses need the urgent go ahead so work can begin in 2025.
The saga began when Boris Johnson visited NMGH in 2019 and promised a ‘total rebuild’ of the Crumpsall site. He said: “That is a plan that will cost I think about £500m. We are embarking on that plan now. We are giving the go-ahead to them to embark on it.
“They will have to take down those old Victorian buildings, they will have to build a fantastic new site. It will cost a lot of money, but we have got to get started.
“We have the funds to do it, we are going to make the funds available, because I think it’s the number one priority of the British people.”
Hospital bosses drew up plans to transform the site. Groundwork began and millions was poured into getting ready for construction to start. A mental health centre and a multi-storey car park were completed but the full money was not forthcoming.
Rusholme MP Afzal Khan admonished the government in Parliament over ‘little progress’ as theatre ceilings collapsed, but nothing happened.
In 2023, Tory peer Lord Nick Markham who was in charge of delivering the 40 new hospitals project promised a slice of the £20bn fund for the project and pledged to the Manchester Evening News that construction would start in 2025 and be finished by 2030. Yet again, the hospital wasn’t given the funding to get going.
Before and after the General Election, Health Secretary Wes Streeting committed to the multi-million pound North Manchester plans. But last month, Mr Streeting apologised and said the plans needed to be reconsidered as part of the government’s spending review on new hospitals.
Just last week, health minister, and Gorton and Denton MP, Andrew Gwynne refused to say whether the hospital will get the full money it was promised so it can go ahead as planned in 2025.
Meanwhile the buildings are crumbling and it is becoming ever more challenging for staff to deliver the care they want to.
Enough is enough. The people of Manchester deserve better. You can help by signing our petition in which The Manchester Evening News calls on Wes Streeting to:
Please sign our petition and pass it on to your friends and family.
Support for our campaign
Graham Stringer, the MP for Blackley and Middleton South, pledged his support to the Manchester Evening News campaign, saying: “The case for North Manchester is absolutely overwhelming, both on health grounds, North Manchester has some of the worst health outcomes in the country, and also on employment grounds. On every level, I simply can’t believe that any other hospital in the country has the same need and potential benefits as North Manchester. There can’t be many.
“They’re effectively working in a 19th century workhouse. [The government is] clearly going to delay some. They shouldn’t delay North Manchester.
“Apart from anything, work is being done. We don’t want to disrupt that. There’s a cost to delay…
“My worry is that if you don’t get bulldozers there, if you don’t get spades on the ground, you’re always at risk of it not happening. It’s great that the Evening News is running a campaign and I support it strongly.”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham recently took on responsibility for health in the region. He said that he would be using his power to urge Wes Streeting to fund the project: “North Manchester has some of the oldest wards in the NHS, that go back to the late 19th century.
“Now, the pot [of money] is not there, basically. I met the health secretary [in early October] and I was making these points. Given the system we have, we have to put things in a queue – and North Manchester has to be at the top.”
The Leader of Manchester City Council Councillor Bev Craig said: “North Manchester is an area which has some of the worst health outcomes and highest levels of deprivation in the country…There is a pressing need for a new hospital but this scheme would deliver so much more in making people healthier, helping regenerate the area with new homes and creating new jobs to get our economy growing. I will be pressing the government for certainty to move forward.”
Mark Cubbon, Chief Executive of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said: “We look forward to gaining a better understanding of the timescales and funding once the review has concluded. In the meantime, we continue to prepare the site in readiness for the build to commence.”
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform Manchester. The knock-on effect of this kind of redevelopment will bring opportunities to an area where generation after generation has suffered the impact of poverty and lack of opportunity. We have a one-off chance to change lives.
Please, if you do one thing to make a difference today, sign our petition.
