Double boost for Stepping Hill

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust’s directors have approved an outline business case for a £30m emergency care campus at the hospital’s main site, while Stepping Hill will also receive a £3.6m winter support package.  

Last year the Government pledged £30.6m to fund a new emergency care and pathology campus on the hospital site. The plans have now been given the green light by the hospital’s board and construction could start next year subject to planning approval. 

A planning application will be lodged with Stockport Council later this year.

Approval of the business case is a “huge step forward” according to Louise Robson, chief executive of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust.

“Our emergency care and pathology campus is set to improve our services in the long term, and our clinicians have worked hard on developing a model of care for the future in which this new building will play a key part.  

“Our board`s approval of the outline business case is a huge step forward in the development of a campus that will transform emergency care at Stepping Hill Hospital,” she added.

The campus, designed by Ryder Architecture, will provide an urgent care treatment centre, GP assessment unit, and planned investigation unit, as well as new facilities for the hospital’s pathology services. 

The trust said the campus will “ensure patients will be seen by the right people, in the right place, at the right time”.

NHS England will now review the business case before final sign-off.

Construction of the campus is scheduled to complete in 2023. 

Additionally, the trust will receive a share of an £18.4m package for Greater Manchester, made available by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to help hospitals upgrade their facilities and improve A&E capacity during the winter months. 

The £3.6m boost will allow the hospital to increase the capacity of its existing emergency department and help the hospital cope with the annual increase in emergency patients it sees in the winter.

Robson said: “Winters are always a time of great pressure for the NHS, and our emergency services, but the impact of Covid-19 is certain to increase these pressures still further. So the additional funding is very welcome to help us cope with those demands this year.”