Stockport Labour Group has welcomed news that Stepping Hill Hospital will be the fourth hospital to provide specialist emergency medicine and general surgery under Healthier Together proposals to improve health outcomes in Greater Manchester.
Labour Health Scrutiny Chair Cllr Tom McGee, a long-term campaigner for Stepping Hill Hospital to be granted specialist status, said ‘it was vital that Stepping Hill was 1 of the 4 specialist hospitals and I’m delighted common sense has prevailed.
‘29,347 responses were received to the public consultation, and strong lobbying from the public, the NHS Foundation Trust, Stockport MP Ann Coffey, Denton and Reddish MP Andrew Gwynne, and local Labour Councillors contributed to achieving this great outcome.’
Leaders from the 12 Clinical Commissioning Groups in the region decided the final location of specialist services on 15th July, with Manchester Royal Infirmary, Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital and Stepping Hill now set to become ‘single service’ centres.
Cllr McGee added ‘Travel and accessibility was ultimately the key consideration of the Committee, and this was something Labour raised with the programme when we submitted our detailed response to the Healthier Together consultation in 2014.
‘Last September we argued that patients ‘would have reduced accessibility to emergency and high-risk general surgery’ and that ‘travel targets set by Healthier Together for access to hospital by both Ambulance and Public Transport’ would struggle to be met, if Stepping Hill didn’t get specialist status.’
In the end these were the decisive points which ensured Stockport retained a full range of low and high risk general surgery.
Labour’s lobbying contrasts starkly with the inaction of Stockport’s Liberal Democrats who, at a full Council Meeting 2 weeks ago, were unable to identify what they were doing on behalf of residents to ensure a positive outcome.
As recently as 2nd July, the Lib Dem Executive Member for Independence and Well-Being Cllr John Pantall publically said he was “not speculating” the decision, and suggested that if the public had to receive some treatment at neighbouring hospitals in Greater Manchester that this wouldn’t have meant patient choice in Stockport had been diminished.
Stepping Hill will continue to serve 320,000 people across Stockport, High Peak and some parts of East Cheshire, but now in addition will be the specialist hospital for South-Eastern Greater Manchester, working in partnership with Tameside and Glossop CCG.
Click here for our response to the Healthier Together consultation, 18 September 2014.