We were promised to rebuild North Manchester General Hospital years ago – could it be canceled now?

North Manchester General Hospital spent years anticipating a rebuild after it was promised to be one of the “40 new hospitals” program promised by then prime minister Boris Johnson.

This pledge made ahead of the 2019 general election has been mired in controversy ever since. Yesterday, another shadow was cast over the fate of North Manchester General and other hospitals awaiting funding as new chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a “complete review” of the new hospitals programme.

But sources close to the multi-million pound project in North Manchester say they are quietly confident the hospital rebuild will go ahead – not least because years of planning have already been completed, preliminary ground work has long since started and many money spent on training. for reconstruction.

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Planning for the redevelopment of North Manchester General Hospital has been ongoing for years and preliminary work has been underway since at least 2022.

A brand new parking lot is now operational to meet the needs of construction and a new influx of patients as capacity expands with the rebuild. Fences now line one end of the Crumpsall site, providing a section for contractors who have been on site. Even more parts of the hospital were moved and reorganized to make way for demolition and reconstruction.

Yesterday (June 29), the chancellor set out a raft of spending cuts, accusing the Tories of “covering up” a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. This included “a complete overhaul” of plans to build 40 new hospitals, first floated by former Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Ms Reeves said “only one new project” had opened to patients since the pledge was made by Mr Johnson, and construction had started on just “six” sites. She said the review would culminate in a “thorough, realistic and costed delivery timetable”.

The chancellor did not mention any hospitals or projects in his speech about what the Labor government inherited from the Tories. But the announcement sparked concerns that the redevelopment of North Manchester General Hospital’s dilapidated Victorian property, which many had been waiting for for years, would be called off at the eleventh hour.

Following the chancellor’s announcement, senior NHS sources told the MEN today (July 30) that the news could mean plans for North Manchester General suffer a delay. But they are still confident the redevelopment will go ahead, along with work on the other six sites referred to by the chancellor, as the project has “broad support”, including from Manchester City Council.

Sources with knowledge of the project previously said Manchester Evening News that as much work as needed to go ahead without government approval or money was being sorted out to ensure North Manchester General Hospital was ready to start rebuilding as soon as a final figure was confirmed. As much of the preliminary work was also possible in the case of any changes in government or policy – ​​both of which have now been achieved.

If preliminary work and a huge reorganization had already been done, it would emphasize the need for funding to be provided promptly for the rest of the reconstruction, as major changes to the structure and operation of the hospital have now been completed and must be followed to maintain. the hospital operating at maximum capacity, according to sources. Being this far into the project would discourage the government from backing out.

The latest openings by those now in power, specifically naming the North Manchester General Hospital, looked positively on the rebuild. “We are committed to the North Manchester General Hospital project,” now health secretary Wes Streeting told the MEN at the end of June in the final days of the general election campaign.

But Mr Streeting warned that the former Tory government had announced political timetables for the new hospital program rather than practical ones – and “delays have costs”.

“I will have a full and honest conversation with the new hospital teams immediately after the election if we win so that we can have an updated and realistic timetable that I can share with the public in an open and transparent way so that people can plan accordingly consequence,” continued Mr. Streeting.

“But we’ve been told that the North Manchester project is on track for the 2030 deadline and the enabling works are ongoing, so I want to make sure that’s done and I want to make sure that that timetable that was given is realistic. one and to which it was stuck.”

In the weeks before the 2019 general election, Boris Johnson came to North Manchester General Hospital and promised his government to build a brand new hospital as the site struggles with its dilapidated property. Even before Mr Johnson’s visit, there were already new proposals for a massive £500m transformation of the site into a new health campus, which the former Tory prime minister praised.

At the time, he did not say how much government money would eventually be available for North Manchester. In the years since, the University of Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, has drawn up multi-million pound plans for a huge redevelopment but has spent years waiting for a central government decision on the scheme.

In October 2020, it was announced that the hospital would be one of 40 across the UK to share part of a £3.7bn NHS cash injection. The following month, it was said that a £600 million “once in a generation” transformation of the hospital was moving closer to publishing ambitious plans.

Talks were held at the highest level between the Treasury, the Department of Health, the council and the city’s health devolved powers as Greater Manchester tried to impress upon the government how much the Victorian property needed to be replaced.

Three years later, in March 2023, cinemas were forced to close for six weeks after a ceiling collapsed. Gorton MP Afzal Khan demanded answers on progress on the “urgently needed” renovation and was told in the Commons by health secretary Steve Barclay that he would meet Manchester Council leader Bev Craig.

In May of that year, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that North Manchester General Hospital remained among the large-scale projects to receive part of an increased funding pot – now worth £20 billion – to complete its construction by 2030. But the MFT still needs government approval to determine how much money it will receive for the reconstruction.

That 2030 completion date drew skepticism after years of slow progress. However, by August 2023, the man in charge of the project, Lord Nick Markham, was visiting General North Manchester to tell the MEN that the government was “ready to go”, with the promise of a complete transformation of the site. He said the 2030 deadline was realistic, with “hospital 2.0 plans” to be completed by this spring and an approximate start date of 2025 for “major works”.

The hospital will be built in a “standardized” image like other hospitals that have qualified for funding from the program, he said. The multi-million pound plans look set to completely overhaul the Crumpsall site with a new acute hospital, a new mental health inpatient unit, a wellbeing centre, an education centre, a new residential community, housing, retail space and a green village.

Work began on a new multi-storey car park center with 980 cycle spaces in February 2022 after the trust was awarded £54.2m of seed funding from the ‘new hospitals programme’. A further £14.8 million was then secured to enable preparatory work for the rebuild.

At the end of last year, the trust was working on submitting a full business case to ensure it received the right amount for its expanded plans – and the government had to approve it in time for the 2025 start date. Since then, however, there have been and a general election has passed and a new government is in power.

Responding to Rachel Reeves’ announcement, Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig informed those following the North Manchester Redevelopment Plans today, saying: “Manchester North General Hospital has been in need of urgent improvements and investment for many years. It serves some of the poorest residents with some of the worst health outcomes in the country and the people of North Manchester deserve better. Our plans are part of a wider regeneration for the north of the city and the city region.

“We await the outcome of the review and will work with the government to ensure there are clear plans to rebuild the crumbling North Manchester General to improve the quality of care and reduce long-standing inequalities, while creating jobs, homes and starting the economy. .”

While Councilor Thomas Robinson, Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Social Care at Manchester City Council, added: “We appreciate that this is the start of a process and look forward to a constructive conversation about our long-term plans for North Manchester General Hospital. and the crucial regeneration and job creation already underway, all of which are key to improved health and wider opportunities for the local community, who will also be looking for updates on the situation.