Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester has officially opened a £20m medical and surgical centre at Stepping Hill Hospital (26th October).

The Duchess of Gloucester toured the three-storey building and talked to staff and patients before unveiling a plaque.

The new centre houses over 120 beds for patients, replacing facilities in old wards with an enhanced environment. It includes four state-of-the-art operating theatres, three of which replaced old theatres, bringing the hospital’s total from 17 to 18.

More than 30,000 operations a year are carried out on the Stockport hospital site.  The expansion will support Stepping Hill Hospital’s new status as one of four specialist centres in Greater Manchester for emergency and high risk general surgery.

The new centre also includes a new surgical assessment, short stay surgical unit and acute medical ward which looks after around 13,000 patients a year. The Greater Manchester Vice Lord Lieutenant Paul Griffiths, Greater Manchester High Sherriff Kui Man Gerry Yeung, and Mayor of Stockport Councillor Linda Holt. were also at the opening and toured the new centre.

Ann Barnes, chief executive said, “We were honoured that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester was able to officially open our new medical and surgical centre. "We`re very proud of this new centre which took two years to build.  It has made a real difference to the quality of service we can provide and the overall patient experience.”