'Landmark' £28m boost for Greater Manchester health care

The grant was awarded following a joint bid by the region's NHS trusts

A grant of more than £28m has been awarded to Greater Manchester's devolved health service to pay for research into new tests and treatments.

The money was awarded as the region's hospitals were granted Biomedical Research Centre status, in what has been described as a "landmark moment".

It will be used to drive forward research into cancer, respiratory disease and other serious conditions.

Millions of people will benefit, the region's NHS trusts said.

In April, Greater Manchester became the first English region to gain control of its health spending as part of an extension of devolved powers.

Jon Rouse, chief officer of Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, the body overseeing the devolution of the region's £6bn health and social care budget, said the funding was "hugely welcome".

"The new partnership approach under devolution means that we have both the opportunity - and the means - to combine the talents of people from a whole range of areas to benefit our population," he said.

He added that the grant was "recognition" that Greater Manchester can combine clinical skills with the best research and academic talent "to take huge steps in improving the health and wellbeing of our people".

The grant was awarded by the National Institute for Health Research following a joint bid from Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust, in partnership with The University of Manchester, The Christie NHS Trust, Salford Royal NHS Trust, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Trust.

Sir Mike Deegan, chief executive of the central Manchester trust, said the £28.5m award would help find "new ways of preventing, predicting and treating some of the major causes of premature death and disability".

"Bringing together our research expertise has only been made possible by the unique connectivity which devolution provides."