Greater Manchester Mental Health will see a new adult mental health unit for patients at North Manchester General Hospital after the full business case was approved.

The FBC will now be formally submitted to NHS England/Improvement for a final investment decision to allow construction to commence.

The new development is part of an exciting vision for North Manchester General Hospital to improve health and well-being for local people over the next 10 to 15 years. GMMH is anticipating receiving £91.3 million of government funding with the remaining £14.6 million to be funded by the trust. The new adult mental health unit is anticipated to cost £105.9 million and will replace current dormitory type accommodation with limited outdoor space.

The development sees the replacement of the current Park House inpatient mental health unit at North Manchester General Hospital and will be completely rebuilt on the hospital site, but in an alternative location. This will allow the new facility to be fully constructed without disturbing current patients and the day-to-day operation of services.

Current plans for the unit include: 150 single en-suite bedrooms to be provided over nine single sex wards, including a purpose built Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), seven adult acute wards for female and male adults, and one older adults’ ward; an assessment suite (specifically for people needing a place of safety and assessment under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act); and a variety of internal activity areas and multiple outside garden spaces specifically designed to enhance the environment and aid recovery.

Plans for the new mental health unit received full planning consent from the local planning authority, Manchester City Council, in January 2021.

Work on the new building site is expected to start in 2022 with the new facility anticipated to be built and operational by 2024.

Neil Thwaite, chief executive of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We passionately believe this investment will greatly improve the quality of specialist inpatient mental health care and will enable us to build a therapeutic, modern environment for patients and workplace for staff. It is excellent news for people needing in-patient mental health services in Manchester and forms part of exciting regeneration plans being developed for the North Manchester hospital site.”