Largest children's hospital opens

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The largest children's hospital in the UK, which has been 30 years in the planning, has opened its doors to patients in Manchester.

The £500m Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, which has taken five years to build, opened on Thursday.

Based on Oxford Road, it is twice the size of the Trafford Centre, has 371 beds and 17 intensive care beds.

The complex integrates the existing children's hospitals in Salford and north Manchester, which are closing.

Mike Deegan, chief executive, said people who work in the region's existing hospitals had been looking forward to the new hospital for years.

It gives far more focus on providing the best facilities to care for children Mike Deegan, chief executive <a class="" href="/local/manchester/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8094000/8094632.stm">Royal Manchester Children's Hospital: Q&A</a>

"It's such a high for all the staff who work in children's services because the planning for the new children's hospital for Manchester began in the early 1970s.

"So where we are sitting today, without a shadow of a doubt, will be regarded as the best children's hospital in the UK - and that's what we need for the children of Greater Manchester and beyond."

Manchester Royal Infirmary, Saint Mary's Hospital for Women and Children and Manchester Royal Eye Hospital are all being revamped to become part of the complex.

Sam Farrer said the new hospital had state-of-the-art equipment

Equipment and staff from Booth Hall Children's Hospital and the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, have been moving over the past few weeks.

Speaking ahead of the move, Booth Hall nurse Sam Farrer said she was sad to leave but excited by the move to the "fantastic" new hospital.

"I'm very shocked at the size of it, but the equipment and the space... it is just five star. It is absolutely wonderful."

Mr Deegan added: "Royal Manchester Children's Hospital's opening is a sign that healthcare in the region is changing, and, regionally, there is far more focus on providing the best facilities to care for children."

The hospital, which has been developed as part of a PFI scheme, was commissioned by Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT), and delivered in partnership with Catalyst Healthcare.

Health bosses said it would treat up to 35,000 children from across the region every year.