It was managed by the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The hospital has its origins in the Dispensary for Children established in Ridgefield in Manchester city centre in 1829.

[1] In May 1879 Florence Nightingale wrote to the Secretary of the Hospital praising the structure of the building and asking for contact details of its architect.

[6] The hospital provided regional services in paediatric oncology, surgery, otolaryngology, orthopaedics, respiratory medicine, endocrinology, neurology, neurosurgery, nephrology and urology.

The hospital a high dependency and the regional intensive care unit and was internationally recognised for its work with metabolic and endocrine diseases.