Health Minister visits Stepping Hill

11 Sep 2019 09:31
Published by: Kian French

STEPPING Hill Hospital welcomed health minister Chris Skidmore to discuss the announcement of £30.60m to create a new emergency care campus on its site.

He met with Board members and emergency care staff from Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital and community services, to learn more about how the funding will be used.

A new 'transformational' three storey purpose built emergency care campus will include an urgent care treatment centre, GP assessment unit, and planned investigation unit, as well as a new ambulance access road, and improved waiting areas.

Stockport health chiefs say the campus will have "a major impact" on emergency services.

It will mean a new way of working to ensure that only patients who need resuscitation or emergency care are seen in the department, while other patients who need urgent care are quickly directed to the right clinicians for assessment and treatment.

As well as learning more about the plans, Mr Skidmore also took a short tour of some of Stepping Hill Hospital's clinical areas, meeting staff in the emergency (A&E) department, ambulatory care unit and medical wards.

He was accompanied on the visit by William Wragg, MP for Hazel Grove, and Mary Robinson, MP for Cheadle.

Louise Robson, chief executive of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said: "It was good to welcome the minister to Stepping Hill Hospital so soon after the funding announcement was made.

"The emergency team were delighted to be able to share their ambitions for local emergency care with him and two of our local MPs, as well as discuss some of the challenges we currently face in coping with an increasing demand for emergency care.

"The £30.60m will undoubtedly transform our emergency services at Stepping Hill Hospital and provide much needed alternatives to local people when they need urgent care.

"We are excited about the future for these services and we are looking forward to starting work on turning our ambitious plans into a reality."

Mr Skidmore said: "Hearing the commitment of nurses and clinicians to their work and their patients is exactly what makes our health service great - this new money will help make their jobs easier and improve the lives of people in this community."

The Stepping Hill Hospital funding is part of £850m which will deliver upgrades at 20 hospitals across the country. 

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