University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust

Withington had a policy of moving patients with infectious diseases to hospital and paying for their maintenance.

Another sanatorium, established by Chorlton on Medlock Board of Guardians in Abergele with 50 beds was also taken over by the corporation.

17 pavilions were built, some of wood and some of brick, with a total capacity of 680 beds, reduced to 350 because of the specialist nature of some of the units.

In early 1945 the hospital reverted to civilian use but with a military wing of 128 beds for servicemen with pulmonary TB.

Randell Champion was appointed the first plastic surgery consultant in Manchester when the NHS started in 1948.

In 1948 the sanatorium was taken over by the South Manchester Hospital Management Committee when the NHS started.

In 1957 when Streptomycin and Para-Aminosalicylic acid were used for prolonged chemotherapy surgery was no longer needed for TB.

In 1987 the hospital was designated as the fourth heart transplant centre after £6 million in charitable donations had been raised.

[3] Its fields of specialism include cardiac services based in the new North West Heart Centre.

One of only six UK heart and lung transplantation centres, it is now developing a rapidly evolving Ventricular Assist Device programme.

Further nationally recognised departments include respiratory medicine, burns and plastics, as well as cancer and breast care services.

[5] Major research programmes focus on cancer, lung disease, wound management and medical education.

It runs a specialist service for patients with cystic fibrosis across the North West,[6] a regional Long Term Ventilation Unit and the National Aspergillosis Centre.

It had approximately 5,500 staff, including those employed by its private finance initiative partner South Manchester Healthcare Limited.

[7] The Trust uses BMI Healthcare's Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, Greater Manchester to help with elective surgery capacity problems, usually in the winter.

[8] According to the Healthcare Commission assessment in 2008, it was one of a few trusts in the North West to achieve 'excellent' ratings for both parts of the study, both use of resources and quality of services.

[9] It also scored as follows in other parts of the report: • 12/13 for safety and cleanliness • 10/13 for waiting to be seen • 5/5 for keeping the public healthy • 9/9 for standard of care • 9/10 for dignity and respect • 17/17 for good management It was named by the Health Service Journal as one of the top hundred NHS trusts to work for in 2015.

[12] This decision was challenged by consultants at the trust who launched a campaign under the banner "Keep Wythenshawe Special" and an action for judicial review, claiming the decision was unlawfully based on the impact on travel times for patients outside Greater Manchester.

[13] A march and rally in support of the campaign in November 2015 was addressed by Ted Robbins whose heart surgery was performed at the hospital.

[14] Dr Attila Vegh, the Chief Executive, resigned shortly before the announcement that the judicial review decision had been unsuccessful.