Yes or no, minister?

MP REFUSES TO TELL THE M.E.N. IF NORTH MANCHESTER GENERAL WILL GET REBUILD CASH – BUT SAYS STEPPING HILL WON’T MISS OUT ON FUNDS

- HELENA VESTY

A HEALTH minister has refused to say whether North Manchester General Hospital will get the full money it was promised for its desperately-needed rebuild plans.

However, Andrew Gwynne said Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport another crumbling NHS estate - will NOT miss out on funding just because the Labour cabinet is scrambling to find money for the '40 new hospitals' promised by previous Conservative governments.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham last week said North Manchester General Hospital has some of the oldest wards in the NHS.

But Department of Health and Social Care minister Mr Gwynne, the MP for Gorton and Denton, would not say whether the Victorian-era hospital would receive the millions it was promised for crucial refurbishments by Boris Johnson in 2019.

The Crumpsall site became one of the '40 new hospitals' pledged by the Conservative government for years.

But despite well-documented dilapidation, including operating theatres closing for weeks at a time because of ceiling collapses, transformational plans that are ready to go have now been put under review by the Labour government.

All projects within the programme promised by the previous Conservative administration are undergoing a spending review, with 25 schemes at risk of being delayed or cancelled, the government announced back in July. One of those projects is North Manchester General Hospital.

All the planning that has already been completed and the millions spent on enabling works in Crumpsall will shave off around 18 months of the time that is needed to rebuild a hospital, it is understood. The catchment area for the hospital also suffers some of the worst health outcomes in the country, with life expectancy years lower than other parts of England.

But the crumbling Victorian-era buildings have still not received the go-ahead after more than five years of government promises.