Key structures are now in place on a building project set to greatly improve emergency and urgent care at Stepping Hill Hospital.

The ‘Emergency and Urgent Care Campus’ will enhance emergency and urgent care for the local population of Stockport as well as residents in High Peak and Cheshire East, transforming their local hospitals’ A&E into a more modern and efficient building, where patients, their families and carers can expect to receive high quality care.

The design of the campus is centred on patient needs, with the best possible state-of-the-art facilities being made available for staff. The campus will include 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.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive Karen James OBE and Director of Operations Jackie McShane were recently shown around the building site by contractors Tilbury Douglas who are overseeing the project.

Building for the campus began in August 2022 and is currently progressing well.  It is expected that the building work will be completed by the end of March 2024.  With the full steel frame structures for the campus now in place, the shape of the buildings can now be seen more clearly. Internal partitions, mechanics and engineering are also currently under construction.

Tilbury Douglas are using local contractors on the project. The social value that the project has already achieved for Stockport is estimated to be around £9m and includes 51 apprentice weeks,  40 hours of career support, 65 hours supply chain support, 42 hours volunteering and 72% of orders placed locally.

During the construction period traffic routes around the hospital are affected, and traffic management measures are in place, including a one way system in the area between the Poplar Grove entrance and the Bramhall Moor Lane entrance. More information on this can be found on the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust website.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive Karen James OBE said “It was fantastic to see up close just what good progress being made on the Emergency and Urgent Care Campus. With the building steel frames now in place we can really see it taking shape. When the campus is in place this will be a hugely improved site for in our emergency and urgent care services providing enhanced care for our patients.”

Tilbury Douglas Project Manager Darren Westcott said “Working collaboratively, we will ensure to sustainably deliver this much-needed project to a high quality and according to national operational standards. Once completed, the local community will really benefit from the new facilities.”