We are among the youngest to die in the UK – and the government is STILL refusing to commit to fixing our crumbling hospital

Manchester ranks in the 10 places with the lowest life expectancy in the UK – but plans to rebuild a hospital that will change this tragic death sentence have been met with empty promises for the last five years.

Manchester has the eighth lowest life expectancy for men, at 75.2 years. In comparison, residents of the area with the highest life expectancy, Hart, will live almost eight years longer than those living in Manchester.

Yet, ambitious plans that could transform the grim fate of those living in some of the most deprived parts of Manchester are being met with silence. The government is STILL refusing to commit to fix the decrepit hospital of these residents, where staff are desperately trying to stop them dying so prematurely.

READ MORE: It's the place where people are born, live, work and die – and 'it's an insult' to those people

The Manchester Evening News is campaigning for the government to commit to the urgent rebuilding of North Manchester General Hospital (NMGH). The government’s response to the M.E.N.’s campaign appeared to delay yet again.

The government said its priority is making sure that rebuilds of hospitals ‘primarily from RAAC, alongside those where the full business case is already approved’ continue as planned. North Manchester General has been waiting years for the go-ahead to submit a full business case for plans already drawn up, and is also plagued with dangerous RAAC concrete.

The M.E.N. contacted the Department for Health again today (December 5) in light of the shocking life expectancy figures for residents of Manchester, many of whom are cared for at NMGH. A spokesperson said the government's 'position had not changed'.

'A 19th century workhouse'

It's now been half a decade since Boris Johnson promised to overhaul NMGH – home to some of the NHS's oldest buildings. Ambitious transformation plans were drawn up after Johnson pledged that NMGH would be one of ‘40 new hospitals’.

The plans say the rebuild will extend the dire life expectancy of the residents served by the hospital. But we still don't know when the vital rebuilding work will commence on the place that is so central to so many lives.

The situation has escalated to an unbearable level, with conditions compared to 'a 19th century workhouse'.

Several operating theatres had to shut down for weeks following ceiling collapses, while others were closed due to inadequate ventilation that could have heightened infection risks. Clinics for expectant mums were forced to move due to visible mould on the walls caused by leaky roofs.

A pharmacy and the entrance to the walk-in centre, the department where women go to be investigated for cervical cancer, are all housed in portable cabins.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting had hinted at the redevelopment finally going ahead, with plans ready to go. But those designs were called in for a government spending review in September, and there has been no solid commitment since.

Please sign our petition

The M.E.N. has started a petition urging Wes Streeting to:

• Commit to fully fund the new hospital and

• Prioritise the rebuild for 2025.

There is no suggestion that the hospital would close, but the need for redevelopment is critical. Staff tell of problems ‘every single day’ caused by the ageing estate – and money is being used just to keep buildings functional, effectively just to ‘stand still’.

This redevelopment is about more than just new buildings. The redevelopment would bring the change desperately needed in one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the nation.

Tackling health inequalities is the "holy grail", according to health experts, who believe this investment could actually make the dream a reality: bringing jobs and housing, and supporting people on long term sickness back into work. It could drastically improve lives in an area where people die younger and live in ill health longer – an area where people lose a decade compared to those in other parts of the country.

This must change

The full plans would turn the ageing buildings into a health ‘campus’, the benefits of which will lift the life expectancy of residents by 1.3 years within a matter of years, according to the proposals. It would include:

• A new, fully-modernised district general hospital with a refurbished A&E, walk-in centre, labour wards, operating theatres, x-ray and outpatients facilities, where care and treatment is closely integrated with community services and supported by state of the art digital systems and remote monitoring

• An education hub to attract, train and develop the region’s best doctors, nurses, and health care workers

• New housing which could include worker accommodation, social housing, and step down care for those not ill enough to be in hospital and not well enough to be at home

• A wellbeing hub to deliver community-based care and support with a café, allotments and a village green

• Shops and offices which would stimulate local business and jobs

But while there have been repeated promises, no government has ever fully committed to funding the work and a date for it to begin. We say this must change – hospital bosses need the urgent go ahead so work can begin in 2025 as promised.

Boris Johnson said in 2019 that the government was “going to make the funds available” for a ‘total rebuild’ of the Crumpsall site. Hospital chiefs set to work on plans and poured millions into groundwork, but the funding never materialised.

In 2023, Tory peer Lord Nick Markham, responsible for delivering the 40 new hospitals, promised the Manchester Evening News that construction would commence in 2025 and conclude by 2030. Yet again, the hospital was left without the necessary funds to begin.

Both before and after the General Election, Wes Streeting committed to the multi-million pound plans for North Manchester. But last month, Mr Streeting issued an apology, stating that the plans required re-evaluation as part of the government's spending review on new hospitals.

In October, health minister and MP for Gorton and Denton, Andrew Gwynne, refused to confirm whether the hospital would receive the full funding it was initially promised, which is essential for the project to proceed as planned in 2025.

There are now more than 2,600 supporters of the M.E.N.’s campaign. Many have shared their stories of just how desperate the situation is inside the crumbling hospital where so many of them go to be born, live, work and die.

Please, if you do one thing to make a difference today, sign our petition.