New inpatient wards proposed for Stepping Hill Hospital

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has submitted plans to build 30,000 sq ft of adult inpatient wards at Stepping Hill Hospital in Hazel Grove.

The Trust, which runs Stepping Hill and other community health services in Stockport, plans to construct the new facility on the site of the former A12 and A15 wards, which were demolished in 2019, as well as part of a car park at the hospital. The buildings will house the B4 and C4 wards, currently located elsewhere on the site and which are to be taken out of commission.

The two- and three-storey building will have space for 64 adult inpatient beds, as well as associated facilities such as a reception area, waiting rooms, ancillary offices, a pharmacy, storerooms and bathrooms. Development will also include landscaping around the building, with low maintenance planting.

If approved, the plans will add to the further investment in facilities underway at Stepping Hill Hospital. Construction is currently ongoing on a new emergency department and urgent care campus at to serve both Stockport, and the hospital’s wider catchment in Cheshire and the High Peak. Construction on the new campus began in August 2022, with work expected to complete by the end of March 2024.

In addition to improvements at Stepping Hill, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has also bid for government funding to build a new hospital in Stockport town centre, repurposing the former Debenhams store on the A6. Plans, also backed by Stockport Council, tie-in to regeneration ambitions for the area that aim to reduce reliance on retail to attract people to the town centre. The request for government funding was first submitted in 2021, but a response has not yet been received either way.