Tameside Hospital’s Women’s Health Unit set for transformation

Women in Tameside and Glossop are set to benefit from a major upgrade to local health services following a remarkable £165,000 donation to Tameside & Glossop NHS Charity.

The funding, provided by the League of Friends organisation, will support the relocation and enhancement of the Women’s Health Unit at Tameside Hospital.

This significant gift was made possible by the legacy of the late Mary Goodliffe JP, a long-standing supporter of the League of Friends whose dedication to community healthcare continues to make a difference. Her generosity will help create modern, purpose-built facilities designed to offer women a more welcoming, dignified, and comfortable environment when accessing care.

The Women’s Health Unit will move to the hospital’s Yellow Suite, where new procedure rooms and clinical spaces will be created to better support gynaecology and maternity patients. The upgrade forms part of a larger £588,000 investment in women’s health services, with the remaining funding drawn from a £1.2 million development pot provided by the Trust.

Hospital leaders say the move represents a major step forward in improving patient experience and expanding clinical capacity. The new space will allow staff to deliver more procedures outside of traditional theatre settings, helping reduce waiting times while also enhancing training opportunities for future doctors and nurses.

Zoe Turner, Divisional Director of Surgery, Women and Children’s, welcomed the development as a pivotal moment for local services.

“This project represents a truly exciting moment for women’s services. The Yellow Suite will give us the modern, purpose-designed environment our patients deserve; somewhere that feels calm, private, and reassuring from the moment people walk through the door. It will help us offer more treatments more quickly, support families during some of the most important moments of their lives and create a fantastic space for training the clinicians of the future. We are deeply grateful for the generosity that has made this possible.”

Emily Whelan, Charity Manager at Tameside & Glossop NHS Charity, also paid tribute to the legacy behind the donation.

“Mary Goodliffe’s legacy, shared so generously by the League of Friends of Tameside Hospital, will have a lasting and meaningful impact on women and families across our community. This gift is creating a space where care will be safer, kinder and more personalised for years to come. We cannot thank the League and Mary enough for enabling such an inspiring improvement for the Tameside and Glossop community.”

The project aligns with the charity’s Everyone Matters Fund, which supports initiatives aimed at improving patient experience, staff wellbeing, and the delivery of compassionate, high-quality care.

Work on the new Women’s Health Unit is due to begin shortly, marking the start of an exciting new chapter for women’s health services in Tameside and Glossop.