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’:
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
Clinics for pregnant mums had to be relocated because of visible mould on the walls from leaking roofs
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
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
There is a significant lack of space for outpatient wards which impacts on clinics
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’.
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