Marking the 74th birthday of the NHS, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) have officially unveiled the name of their new £105.9m adult inpatient unit.
The name North View was settled upon following a consultation with staff, service users and stakeholders, which garnered hundreds of suggestions.
Construction on the new build is expected to start in August, with the new unit scheduled to be up and operational by 2024. The central government will provide £91.3m of funding for the project, whilst the remaining £14.6m will be put up by GMMH.
Neil Thwaite, Chief Executive of GMMH, said: “In deciding on a name for the new development we wanted to choose something that would stand the test of time and celebrate our location in North Manchester. The name provides a strong sense of place and was inspired by the Lemn Sissay poem ‘Anthem of the North’, whose imagery resonates with our ethos of care, resilience, hope and growth.
“We are very much looking forward to our move into the new North View development. Not only does a modern, therapeutic environment help us to improve the quality of specialist inpatient mental health care, but the design of the unit has been carefully thought through to enhance what we do.
“The 150 bed spaces are in single rooms with en-suite bedrooms. There are indoor and outdoor amenity and activity areas with multiple outside garden spaces, space for artwork, meeting spaces and a café for everyone to enjoy."
The new development forms part of a new hospital programme that aims to create a “new sustainable health campus” at North Manchester General Hospital. All of which is part of the vision to help improve the health and wellbeing of the local community over the next 10 or 15 years.
Marc Reed, Associate Director of Capital, Estates and Facilities for GMMH, said: “Today’s announcement is a significant milestone as we move towards construction of the new mental health inpatient unit. We’ll now be undertaking work to develop branding to support the North View building name and provide a specific identity for the project.
“We have all waited a very long time for this fit for purpose, mental health inpatient unit and we are truly excited for what this transformation will mean for adults with mental health problems in Manchester.”
The government formally approved the Full Business Case for the project in November 2021, which will support the Prime Minister’s ambition to upgrade 20 hospitals.
The Prime Minister’s commitment will be backed by £850m of funding, specifically ringfenced for the update of facilities and equipment – ultimately improving patient care and thus saving more lives.
North View will replace the current Park House mental health inpatient unit.
Click here for more information on the new development.
