After three years, this crumbling hospital unveils its £34m a&e facelift

THE HOSPITAL HAS SPENT YEARS BEING DOGGED BY PROBLEMS WITH ITS AGEING BUILDINGS 16:41, 21 May 2025Updated 16:54, 21 May 2025 A crumbling Greater Manchester hospital has finally unveiled a

£34m facelift to its A&E after three years of work. The new ‘Emergency and Urgent Care Campus’ at Stepping Hill Hospital is now open. The major construction project is hoped by hospital

bosses to ‘greatly improve’ emergency and urgent care in the area. Construction of the new campus started in 2022 and has lasted nearly three years. The new building includes new assessment,

treatment and consultation areas for several key emergency and urgent care services including the children’s emergency department, mental health, and medical same day emergency care. The

ambulance drop-off area has also been remodelled, according to an announcement by the hospital today (May 21). The new building extends from the hospital’s old A&E department, and has

changed the front face of the hospital. Article continues below Hospital bosses say it will be ‘more welcoming and visually attractive, and make for an improved experience for patients

receiving emergency and urgent care’. The new A&E entrance is now open for patients. “The design of the new campus is centred on patient needs, with the best possible state-of-the-art

facilities being made available for staff,” read an announcement by Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which operates Stepping Hill. “The clinical area of the campus has increased by over

300m², enabling more patients to receive safe care and treatment sooner.” The hospital has spent years being dogged by problems with its ageing buildings. Over the course of four months last

year, the Stockport hospital saw one of its major outpatient buildings condemned – followed by two 'unexpected and unrelated' ceilings collapsing in its radiology department and

its critical care unit. Those incidents have led to a serious dip in the capacity for outpatient appointments and the hospital's intensive care department being out of action for days.

Hospital chiefs have valued a repairs bill of at least £130m for the rest of the decaying estate. Stepping Hill has been spurned by multiple governments in its attempts to secure funding for

repairs. In autumn, the Labour administration U-turned on funding to fix up the hospital due to the state of public finances, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said amounts to a £22bn

black hole. The borough’s MPs have also railed against Stepping Hill Hospital not qualifying for the New Hospitals Programme to rebuild ageing hospitals. The scheme was left by the

Conservatives and then taken over last year when Labour came into power. The hospital trust's chief executive, Karen James, has previously warned that bosses at the site must be

'realistic' about the amount of funding to maintain the current buildings – 'meaning [they] are likely to experience more issues as the result of our ageing buildings'.

But today, Ms James celebrated the new opening, saying: “It is fantastic to see the new campus open and running, providing the enhanced emergency and urgent care which our local population

needs. “The building project here has been a major project and a real team effort, and I’d like to say a big thank you to our partner contractors Tilbury Douglas, our capital and estates

team, and everyone else who has worked so hard to make it possible.” Stockport NHS Foundation Trust’s capital and estates team worked with contractor Tilbury Douglas on the £34m scheme. A

short opening ceremony was held at the building to mark the occasion. Additional funding for patient facilities at the campus were also provided by Stockport NHS Charity. Martin Horne,

Regional Director of the North West at Tilbury Douglas said “The new Emergency and Urgent Care Centre at Stepping Hill Hospital will make a real difference to patients, staff and the wider

community. “Delivering such a complex scheme in a live hospital environment required true collaboration. The trust team had to be dynamic in managing spatial challenges, while relying on us

to perform dependably, minimising disruption and handing back spaces on time and to plan.” Article continues below The contractor added: “This significant investment will provide a facility

that is absolutely central to the health and well-being of the community, and we are proud to have delivered it in partnership with the trust.”