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<\/p>\nNorth Manchester General Hospital bosses have issued an update on the rebuild of the Victorian-era facility – set to be the ‘most significant investment in the north west’ in the next decade in health care<\/p>\n
New CGI views of what the new North Manchester General Hospital could look like(Image: MFT)<\/p>\n
North Manchester General Hospital<\/a> bosses have issued an update on the rebuild of the Victorian-era facility after years of waiting for the go-ahead from government.<\/p>\n In January last year, the hospital was told by the government <\/a>it would finally fund the former workhouse\u2019s long-awaited transformation. Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the House of Commons the crumbling Crumpsall estate would be awarded between \u00a31bn to \u00a31.5bn in funding.<\/p>\n That funding was formally approved by the government<\/a>, giving ‘financial certainty’ to plans for a new state-of-the-art facility. And, in a board meeting of Manchester University NHS<\/a> Foundation Trust (MFT) this week, bosses gave an update on the progress of plans.<\/p>\n Try MEN Premium NOW for just \u00a31<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n They told of how \u2018work is progressing on the refresh of the business case, with work to describe the rooms required in the new hospital, their quantity and size complete. Once agreed with the national team, work on the design of the buildings can proceed\u2019.<\/p>\n The hospital trust is working with the government\u2019s New Hospitals Programme (NHP) team, which has awarded the billion-pound fund<\/a>. And works have started on-site to prepare the ground for the new hospital development.<\/p>\n But the NHP team \u2018always seems to be challenging\u2019 the trust, board members raised as a concern as they asked the most senior chiefs on Wednesday (January 28): \u201cWhen are we going to get to the point we say, \u2018this is the plan\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Chair of the trust, Kathy Cowell CBE, responded \u201cthat\u2019s a hot topic,\u201d before the chief finance officer, Claire Wilson, said: \u201cThere is a huge amount of work that we do in parallel and in lockstep with the New Hospitals Programme.\u201d<\/p>\n The chief finance officer explained that the trust has worked on \u2018demand and capacity modelling\u2019, to make sure both the government and the trust have the \u2018same assumptions\u2019 about the level of demand on the hospital over time.<\/p>\n \u201cThat gets locked down, then we move onto the schedule of accommodation,\u201d she continued. \u201cThat is likely to be locked down by the end of this week.<\/p>\n \u201cThat describes the size of the footprint that we will need going up. They are constantly challenging us, and we are challenging ourselves, on the level of transformation, and reflections, and alternative service redevelopment that we need to ensure are in the scope and scale of our own build so we\u2019re not building something that isn\u2019t fit for the future.”<\/p>\n CGIs of the new North Manchester General were released last year(Image: MFT)<\/p>\n The trust is expecting to have \u2018an estimate of the overall size of the footprint, a schedule of accommodation\u2019 soon, with a meeting at the end of February where the government signs off. After that, the trust can \u2018start to design the whole thing and set up the business case from April onwards\u2019.<\/p>\n Ms Wilson said: \u201cWe\u2019re getting close. There is a pressure on the cost. One of the things that we have done, both ourselves and by NHP, is been challenged on that all the way through.<\/p>\n \u201cSo now a common set of assumptions as to what size hospital we need and how much of that is new build, how much of that is redevelopment or refurbishment of our existing estate. We\u2019re really challenging if we\u2019re getting the absolute best value for the patient and the public pound.\u201d<\/p>\n The Crumpsall estate will at last be given its much-needed transformation(Image: MFT)<\/p>\n The trust\u2019s chief executive, Mark Cubbon, added that this will be the most significant investment in the region, amid the government\u2019s \u201810-Year Health Plan\u2019<\/a>. The plan sets out three key \u2018shifts\u2019: moving care from hospitals to communities, shifting from analogue to digital, and pivoting from sickness treatment to prevention.<\/p>\n Mr Cubbon told the meeting: \u201cThe conversations [with the New Hospitals Programme] have been really constructive. There\u2019s movement in both directions where we see an opportunity. At the end of the day, all we\u2019re trying to do is get the greatest value for money for the taxpayer and get a fantastic facility.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s quite right that we\u2019re being challenged, and we\u2019re challenging ourselves. If you think about the 10-Year Plan, it\u2019s a completely different model of care to the one we have today. There\u2019s three shifts, and this is going to be the most significant investment in the north west in the lifespan of the 10-Year Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Cubbon called the project a big \u2018responsibility\u2019 but an \u2018exciting opportunity\u2019. He added: \u201cHow are we building a hospital that\u2019s digital-first in terms of how the whole thing operates for the future?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of responsibility\u2026 we\u2019re trying to go as quickly as we can to get the business case right, but also making sure that the assumptions that underpin the shift in the model of care are as right as we can get them.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause nowhere in the country has designed a new hospital with the new goals of care in the 10-year health plan. That\u2019s why it\u2019s really exciting, but I think as we go through the different stages, we should make sure that we\u2019re getting the checks and balances right \u2013 for ourselves as much as for the NHP.\u201d<\/p>\n Artist impressions of what the rebuild could look like(Image: MFT)<\/p>\n The 2025 announcement said that work on the new north Manchester hospital would start as early as 2027, in the first wave of the new hospital projects being given money by the government.<\/p>\n The funding followed a major Manchester Evening News campaign<\/a> to rebuild the failing structure, which was built in the 1870s. We urged the government to commit to funding a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a hospital that will save lives, fit for the next 150 years.<\/p>\n North Manchester General Hospital is in a state of such disrepair it has been described by some as akin to a ’19th century workhouse’. Staff report daily issues caused by the ageing estate, with operating theatres being forced to close<\/a> because of crumbling ceilings.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1_HVR_MEN_200325_nmgh_cropped.jpg\")
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