Tameside General Hospital

Tameside General Hospital is an NHS hospital situated in Ashton-under-Lyne. Run by Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust, it serves the surrounding area of Tameside in Greater Manchester, and the town of Glossop in Derbyshire. Employing just under 2,500 staff, the hospital provides a wide array of healthcare one would associate with general hospitals, including Accident and Emergency services, and full consultant-led obstetric and paediatric hospital services for women, children and babies. In 2005 the hospital received the maximum three star rating from the Healthcare Commission in recognition of the quality of its services, and it is currently applying for Foundation Trust status.

History
Tameside Hospital has been around in one form or another since its foundation in 1861 by founders Samuel Oldham and Henry Darnton. Oldham’s stated intention in founding Ashton District Infirmary was to create an institution “for the relief and cure of sick and indigent persons resident, employed, or having been employed within 3 ½ miles of Ashton Town Hall.” After its formation a separate workhouse was built nearby.

Upon the formation of the National Health Service in 1948, the old hospital joined with the buildings of the old workhouse to form the new Ashton-under-Lyne General Hospital, now dedicated to fulfilling the NHS’s ideals of providing healthcare to all, regardless of ability to pay. The hospital changed its name to Tameside General Hospital in 1976, and over the following decades new buildings were built to provide better standards of care for local people.

Local Population
Located near the Pennines, eight miles to the east of Manchester, the hospital serves a population of over 250,000. The population is concentrated in the largely urban areas of the townships of Tameside (Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Longdendale, Mossley and Stalybridge) which comprises Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. Glossop, with its population of approximately 28,000 is part of Derbyshire High Peak Borough Council, which provides the challenges of a more rural community.

Redevelopment
Work to rebuild Tameside General Hospital will begin summer 2007 at a cost of £90 Million, crumbling buildings will be replaced with state-of-the-art facilities, comprising new wards, x-ray clinics, multi-storey car park, main entrance, new Pathology Laboratory, and Education and Training Centre.

A new Mental Health Unit will look over Stamford Park towards the Yorkshire Moors and it is hoped the scenic views will help aid patients recovery.

The redevelopment is expected to be rubber stamped by the Department of Health in early summer 2007, redevelopment will then be implemented in phases, beginning May 2007 and lasting 4 years.