After a tense wait, doctors who commission health services across the region have chosen Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport to join Manchester Royal Infirmary, The Royal Oldham and Salford Royal as the forth ‘super’ hospital in Greater Manchester.
The four appointed hospitals are part of the NHS’s radical ‘Healthier Together’ reform and will benefit 2.8 million residents in what is being described as the biggest shake up of the National Health Service since the NHS was introduced on July 5th 1948.
Stepping Hill hospital (left) had been waiting to hear whether it would be chosen and won out to Wythenshawe Hospital, the Royal Bolton and Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan to be the final specialist hospital following a unanimous decision taken in Manchester’s Town Hall on Wednesday.
Ann Barnes, chief executive of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital, said:
“We are delighted that we have been chosen as the fourth site to provide emergency medicine and specialist abdominal surgery under the Healthier Together proposals.
“We are committed to working as part of the single service model proposed by Healthier Together to improve the quality of care for people across Greater Manchester and to our neighbours beyond.
“This has only ever been about what is best for patients. Stepping Hill Hospital treats patients from across Stockport, the High Peak and beyond. We are pleased that the commissioners have recognised the significance of our location for providing emergency general surgery, complex surgery and emergency medicine.
“Throughout the consultation we stressed the importance of having a specialist hospital within a critical travel time distance, but also highlighted our excellent results. For example, our survival rates for bowel cancer surgery are the best in Greater Manchester and, in partnership with primary care in Stockport, our one year cancer survivor rates are the fifth best in the country.
“We are a designated A&E trauma unit and have a fully equipped critical care unit, with additional beds already available. We also open a new £17 million centre next year, which will significantly enhance surgical care. Our specialist hyper acute stroke centre is one of only three in Greater Manchester.
“Whilst we recognise that none of the hospitals in Greater Manchester currently meet all of the standards, we already meet a significant proportion and will now work with our partner organisations to deliver on all of them.
“We are looking forward to working with our neighbouring hospitals, as part of a single service, to ensure that all residents can access the highest quality emergency services.
“Healthier Together is about achieving the best results for patients through a truly world class service. It is about saving more lives and safeguarding our NHS services for future generations”.
Stepping Hill can look forward to recruiting an extra 35 consultants across A&E and general surgery which will specialise in “emergency medicine and general surgery for patients with life threatening conditions.
In April the Government announced that representatives from the councils, hospitals and other providers, clinical commissioning groups and local NHS England management will be handed local control of Greater Manchester’s NHS budget.