HEALTH bosses have drawn up plans to site all the region's neurosciences at Salford's Hope Hospital.

A "centre of expertise" housing state of the art facilities looks set to be created, but a final decision will not be announced until early next year.

Salford Hope Hospitals NHS Trust, which manages Hope, unveiled details of the plan as a team of management consultants who were brought in to evaluate the bids for the Neurosciences Centre, gave its interim report.

Trust chief executive Bill Sang said: "We would be offering a service for the whole of Greater Manchester based on the very latest thinking in neurosciences.

"The result would be one of the leading neurosciences centres in the country.

"It would not only improve current patient treatment and be more cost effective, it would act as a significant boost to the morale of the area's neuroscience staff who feel their service has long been neglected."

A team from Grant Thornton Management Consultants and the Nuffield Institute for Health, Leeds University, gives strong backing to the Hope scheme in its report to Manchester Health Authority.

The Hope Neurosciences Centre will take three years to complete and will be housed in part of the hospital's new £18 million phase II development.

But it will need an additional £4.2 million capital investment.

The plan is for 105 beds including 20 for acute neuro-rehabilitation and three dedicated theatre suites backed by the full range of diagnostic and support facilities provided on the hospital site.

The consultation period ends on Nov 30 and a decision is expected in the New Year.

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