On the NHS’s 74th Anniversary (5 July), Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), announced that the name of its major new inpatient mental health unit to be constructed at North Manchester General Hospital will be ‘North View’.
The Trust said marking the NHS’s birthday by unveiling the official name for the £105.9 million adult inpatient unit was ‘a significant milestone, demonstrating how the NHS has innovated and adapted to meet the changing needs of each successive generation’.
Work on the new building – which will replace the current Park House mental health inpatient unit – is expected to start in August, with the new unit anticipated to be built and operational by 2024. The choice of name follows engagement with staff, service-users and stakeholders, which saw hundreds of suggestions.
Neil Thwaite, CEO of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “In deciding on a name 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 moving into the new North View development. Not only does a modern, therapeutic environment help us improve the quality of specialist inpatient mental healthcare, but the design has been carefully thought through to enhance what we do. The 150 bed spaces are in single rooms with en-suite bathrooms. 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 building will open in Autumn 2024, and forms part of the new hospital programme and the creation of a new ‘sustainable health campus’ at North Manchester General Hospital. The development is a major part of the vision to improve health and wellbeing for local people over the next 10-15 years. Last November, the Government formally approved the Full Business Case for the new adult mental healthcare facility.