The new face of Manchester’s healthcare is revealed today as a £500m building project enters its final phase.
The entrances to the new children’s hospital, St Mary’s, the Royal Eye Hospital and the revamped Manchester Royal Infirmary are visible for the first time as the new central courtyard opens to the public.
The 10,000-square-metre boulevard had been fenced off while builders demolished the old St Mary’s tower block.
A new road, which links to Nelson Street and Hathersage Road, passing by each hospital, will be used by ambulances to drop-off patients.
The 147 bus from Piccadilly will soon run directly through the hospital site making access easier for patients and staff.
Roger Potts, of project manager Catalyst Healthcare said: “The opening of the boulevard marks the final milestone for us and everybody involved in the construction of these fantastic facilities.
“The boulevard ties the site together and is positioned on the former home of the old St Mary’s Hospital tower block which was demolished and relocated earlier this year.
“The whole site has been delivered ahead of schedule and within budget.
“This is extremely impressive and testament to the effort all parties have committed to this project.”
Work started on site in 2005.
The first unit to open was part of the Manchester Royal Infirmary back in 2007.
The Royal Manchester Children’s hospital is the largest in Europe and opened in June last year, bringing together services from worn-out sites in Booth Hall and Pendlebury.
It was closely followed by
St Mary’s women’s hospital and the Royal Eye Hospital last summer.
The four hospitals now treat more than one million patients a year. The courtyard will include 71 disabled parking spaces and
patient drop-off points and the whole site covers an area twice the size of the Trafford Centre.
It has 1,100 beds and also
provides essential support services such as clinical sciences, education, training and research.
Central Manchester Hospitals chairman, Peter Mount, said: “I am immensely proud of what has been achieved in the development of these new hospitals for the benefit of our patients, staff and visitors.”
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This is also wonderful, a new building for healthcare and people from all over Manchester can access a great service. Or is this just going to be another brand new building for the purpose of health and social care of people living and working in Manchester. But in the light of the Coalition Government cut-backs is this going to be a beautiful building with hardly no staff.
Another alarm bell that rings for me is - is the building under the ownership of the NHS or does some private company own the lease and we will have to rent the building forever?
Can anyone remember the building programmes for schools that was a shambles is this going to be too?
Maybe I sound bitter, but the NHS has changed so much without empowering the public with all the information we require as tax-payers and please tell me I am totally wrong. Lets us all watch this space. I'm sure the Manchester Evening News will keep us (the public) informed as often the NHS forget to do this.
Look forward to reading other comments. So what do you really think?
Mark Wainwright
Manchester
sack the penpushing bean counters who planned this development I say
Which pen pushing bean counters planned this development Rufus? Are you able to enlighten us with some more specifics?