Stockport NHS pathology lab secures £26m Stepping Hill boost 2026

Key Points

• The Stockport NHS Foundation Trust will get an extra £26 million from the DHSC for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art pathology lab at the Stepping Hill Hospital.
• This capital expenditure falls under a larger £1.5 billion national plan which will provide funding for maintenance, safety, and resilience projects on the NHS Estate in England.
• The new building will replace the old pathology facility in order to ensure that the diagnostic services delivered from there are efficient, effective and of a good quality for all patients across Stockport, the High Peak, and the wider region.
• More than 10 million tests are carried out in Stockport NHS labs every year for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.
• The project has been given a green light to progress to detailed design phase where the project team will work together with pathology teams, clinical teams, estate experts and many other parties in order to come up with a plan for its implementation.
• Jackie McShane, Chief Operating Officer for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust stated that the funding was well received as the current facility provides “21st-century medical science from a building constructed for the needs of the previous century”

Stockport (Manchester Mirror) September 15, 2026 – The trust has confirmed it will receive £26 million in additional funding from the Department of Health and Social Care to develop a new, purpose-built pathology laboratory building on the Stepping Hill Hospital site. The investment is intended to replace ageing pathology accommodation with a modern environment designed to support safe, efficient and high-quality diagnostic services for patients across Stockport, the High Peak and the wider area.

As reported by the trust’s communications team on its website, the new building will protect the vital services which clinicians rely on to diagnose patients and provide urgent care. The funding forms part of a new £1.5 billion package to support maintenance, safety and resilience projects across the NHS estate nationally, with the Stepping Hill pathology building among the top ten projects included in the announcement.

Why is a new pathology building needed at Stepping Hill Hospital?

The trust has stated that its current pathology service operates from outdated accommodation that no longer matches the demands of modern diagnostic medicine. In a statement published on the trust’s website, Jackie McShane, Chief Operating Officer for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted at the announcement of this new investment for our pathology services. Our current pathology service delivers 21st-century medical science from a building constructed for the needs of the previous century.” She added that the new building would be “a great step forward, helping us to provide improved support for timely diagnoses for conditions such as cancer, in an enhanced and more efficient environment”.

According to the trust, more than 10 million tests are carried out in Stockport NHS laboratories each year to help support the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of conditions. The new facility is expected to improve support for timely diagnoses, including cancer pathways, while creating a safer, modern working environment for staff and more efficient laboratory workflows with greater use of automation.

How will the £26 million be used for Stockport NHS pathology services?

The £26 million will fund the development of a new and improved purpose-built pathology laboratory building on the Stepping Hill Hospital site. The trust has set out a list of anticipated improvements, including greater resilience and capacity to meet increasing diagnostic demand; better integration of histopathology, blood sciences and other pathology services; and modern infrastructure capable of accommodating future diagnostic technologies.

Other expected benefits include improved opportunities for staff recruitment, retention, training and development; a more sustainable and energy-efficient laboratory environment; and a stronger platform for collaboration across Greater Manchester. The building scheme has now been approved to proceed to detailed design, with the project team due to work with pathology staff, clinical services, estates specialists and other stakeholders to develop the plans and confirm the programme for delivery.

Which other NHS sites are receiving funding in the same £1.5 billion package?

The Department of Health and Social Care has approved more than £1.5 billion of investment across more than 950 NHS estate projects in England, combining ten substantial hospital schemes with a wider programme of maintenance, safety, cooling, ventilation and electrical works. Alongside Stepping Hill Hospital’s £26 million for a new pathology building, the national announcement included £41 million for operating theatre improvements at Bristol Royal Infirmary and £25 million for a new clinical building at Wycombe Hospital to allow services to move from an ageing tower, according to industry coverage of the programme.

Local reporting by Nub News noted that Stepping Hill Hospital is one of 10 hospitals to receive a share of the funds under the government package, with local Liberal Democrat MPs warning that more money may still be needed to cover the wider repairs backlog. The BBC has previously reported that Stockport NHS Foundation Trust is set to receive more than £75 million over the next four years aimed at enhancing conditions at Stepping Hill, highlighting ongoing pressure on the hospital estate.

What is the timeline and next step for the Stockport pathology building project?

The trust has confirmed that the building scheme has been approved to proceed to detailed design. The project team will work with pathology staff, clinical services, estates specialists and other stakeholders to develop the plans and confirm the programme for delivery. Earlier in 2026, the trust ran a tender process to appoint an architect-led multidisciplinary design team for the proposed new pathology building, with submissions due in June and the contract expected to run for more than two years across multiple RIBA stages.

The tender, published on the government’s Find a Tender service, sought a team with experience in healthcare pathology facilities and expertise in BREEAM sustainability standards, with applicants judged on experience, social value offering and technical capability. The trust indicated it was looking to announce the contract winner at the end of July, setting the stage for the detailed design phase now enabled by the £26 million funding confirmation.

Background to the Stockport NHS pathology building development

Pathology services at Stepping Hill Hospital have been undergoing both digital and physical transformation in recent years. In 2026, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust completed the rollout of the Clinisys WinPath laboratory information management system across its pathology services, replacing laboratory software that had been in use for more than 30 years. The final phase covering blood transfusion and blood sciences went live in April 2026, following earlier deployment in microbiology and cellular pathology from September 2025.

Separately, the trust has progressed wider estate works at Stepping Hill, including a new outpatients centre and an urgent care campus. A new outpatients centre opened at the hospital in 2026 as part of a £24.3 million facility, while an emergency and urgent care campus has been under development with planning and business case approvals advancing in prior years. The pathology building project sits within this broader context of efforts to modernise diagnostic and urgent care capacity on the Stepping Hill site.

Prediction: how could this development affect patients, staff and local services?

For patients across Stockport, the High Peak and surrounding areas, the new pathology building is likely to affect access to faster and more reliable diagnostic results, particularly for time-sensitive pathways such as cancer. By consolidating histopathology, blood sciences and other pathology services in a modern, automated environment, the trust expects to reduce bottlenecks in testing and improve turnaround times for clinicians making treatment decisions.

For staff, the development is expected to affect working conditions by providing a safer, more energy-efficient laboratory designed around contemporary workflows and future diagnostic technologies. The trust has highlighted potential gains in recruitment, retention, training and development, which could help stabilise workforce capacity in a sector facing national staffing pressures. For local NHS planners and commissioners, the project may affect service configuration across Greater Manchester by strengthening Stepping Hill’s role as a diagnostic hub and enabling closer collaboration with neighbouring trusts.

However, local MPs have cautioned that the £26 million, while significant, forms part of a wider need for investment to address the hospital’s overall repairs backlog. If the detailed design and delivery phases proceed on schedule, the new building could begin to affect diagnostic capacity within the next few years, but the full impact will depend on construction timelines, equipment procurement and integration with existing digital pathology systems such as Clinisys WinPath.