Stepping Hill Hospital welcomed Chris Skidmore MP, Minister for State for Health, (yesterday 12 August) to discuss the recent announcement of new £30.60m of capital funding for 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 to build a three storey purpose built emergency care campus. The ambitious plans, which will transform emergency care in Stockport, 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.

The emergency care campus will have a major impact not only on the environment in which patients are cared for, but also on how patients’ needs are assessed and treated. 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, who both warmly welcomed the investment in the hospital.

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 £30.6m 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.”

Minister for Health, Chris Skidmore MP said: “I’d like to thank staff who welcomed me to Stepping Hill Hospital today, where I heard how the new £30.6 million investment will be used to help the people of Stockport get urgent treatment at a new Emergency Care campus. 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 funding for Stepping Hill Hospital comes as part of £850m of new funding for upgrades at 20 hospitals across the country to improve patient care and save lives, as part of a wider £1.8bn package for the NHS announced by the Government last week.”