The Duchess of Gloucester visits Stepping Hill Hospital
Published
The Duchess of Gloucester has officially opened the new £20m medical and surgical centre at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport.
On arrival at the new centre, Her Royal Highness toured the new three-story facility, which has beds for 120 patients. It also includes four state-of-the-art operating theatres, three of which replaced old theatres, bringing the hospital's total from 17 to 18.
The Duchess met a number of patients and staff at the new centre – more than 30,000 operations a year are carried out at the hospital.
The new expansion will support Stepping Hill Hospital's new status as one of four specialist centres in Greater Manchester for emergency and high risk general surgery.
Before departing, Her Royal Highness unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening of the new centre, which also houses a new surgical assessment unit, short stay surgical unit and an acute medical ward, which will look after around 13,000 patients a year.
"We're very proud of this new centre which took two years to build. It has made a real difference to the quality of service we can provide and the overall patient experience.” – Anne Barnes, Chief Executive
