The rebuild of the crumbling North Manchester Manchester Hospital (NMGH) remains in limbo, bosses confirmed today, as the M.E.N. renews its calls for the government to commit to the project.
A new hospital at the site was first promised in 2019 by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Hospital bosses drew up advanced and ambitious plans and groundwork began, with millions ploughed into getting ready for construction. But the full money was not forthcoming.
Before and after the General Election, Health Secretary Wes Streeting committed to the multi-million pound North Manchester plans. But last month, Mr Streeting apologised and said the plans needed to be reconsidered as part of a spending review on new hospitals.
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The project is a a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to transform lives in one of the most deprived communities in the country. And the Manchester Evening has launched a campaign urging the new Labour government to fully commit to funding the new hospital and to prioritise the build for 2025.
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The terms of reference for the review of the New Hospitals Programme (NHP) were published by the government late last week. And board members of the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), which runs the hospital, were today given an update as to the current state of play.
In a report submitted for a public meeting of the trust's board, MFT Chief executive Mark Cubbon said: "The Terms of Reference for the review of the New Hospitals Programme requested by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care have been published. They describe the purpose, governance arrangements, scope, and approach deliverables of the review.
"The review will be jointly led and resourced across the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and HM Treasury (HMT). The purpose of the review is to consider the options for putting the New Hospital Programme onto a realistic, deliverable and affordable footing.
"It will assess the appropriate schedule for delivery for schemes in the programme in the context of overall constraints to hospital building and wider health infrastructure priorities.
"A full range of options to be taken forward for the overall size and ambition of the programme will be presented. The review will conclude as soon as possible and will be submitted to the Secretary of State for DHSC and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for consideration.
"The review will feed into the spending review process, where decisions on the outcome will be taken in the round and the government will confirm the outcome of the review as part of that process.
"The NMGH redevelopment has been confirmed as one of the schemes within in the scope of the review and we look forward to receiving confirmation of funding and timescales for the scheme once the review concludes."
At the meeting at Wythenshawe Hospital on Monday afternoon, Mr Cubbon added: "I don't have any dates when the outcome will be made public, or what that says."
But he said the trust were "working as closely we can" with the NHP "without being in the same building" and promised board members an update as soon as one was available.
Launching its campaign, the M.E.N. said: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform Manchester. The knock-on effect of this kind of redevelopment will bring opportunities to an area where generation after generation has suffered the impact of poverty and lack of opportunity. We have a one-off chance to change lives."
A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the government had "inherited a New Hospital Programme that is undeliverable and unfunded."
"Patient safety is our biggest concern, so rebuilds of hospitals built primarily from RAAC, alongside those where the Full Business Case is already approved, will continue as planned," they added. "Our review will provide a thorough, costed and realistic timeline for delivery of the rest of the programme to ensure we can replace the crumbling hospital estate in England."
