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The Manc The Manc - 7th May 2020
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Smoke billows across Manchester city centre as historic mill goes up in flames

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Smoke billows across Manchester city centre as historic mill goes up in flames

Smoke is billowing across the Manchester skyline this evening after a huge fire has struck the historic Hotspur Press building.

The former mill just off Whitworth Street West has gone up in flames, with smoke seen for miles.

People have been sharing pictures and videos of the blaze from all over the city centre.

The Hotspur Press stands just below the train lines between Manchester Oxford Road and Deansgate train station, meaning that the fire has caused significant travel disruption.

Trains out of Manchester Oxford Road are currently all showing as delayed.

The building was set to be redeveloped into a student accommodation tower block, with a recent planning application requesting to change the original consented brick cladding to an aluminium façade. A large emergency services response is on the scene.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) told The Manc: “Firefighters are currently tackling a large fire at the derelict Hotspur Press building on Cambridge Street in Manchester.“An evacuation of the neighbouring apartment buildings is taking place.

“The public are advised to stay away from the area while crews continue to tackle the fire.”

National Rail has said: “There is a fire next to the track at Manchester Oxford Road, closing all lines at this station. As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 25 minutes or revised. This issue is expected to continue to impact services until 20:00.”

Plumes can be seen for miles, with residents in Salford, Hyde, Bolton, and further afield reporting sightings, including some even in Cheshire – fair to say it’s one of, if not the largest, fire in Manchester city centre for some time.

Witnesses have said that crowds are now being cleared from the area due to a risk of asbestos.

If nearby, please keep away and urge others to stay safe.

This is a breaking news story – more to follow.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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Government launches ‘urgent’ review into NHS maternity and neonatal care services

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A rapid national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services has been ordered by the Government.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting says this Government inherited a situation from the previous government where issues in maternity and neonatal care had been ‘ongoing for some time’, and now he wants to ‘provide truth and accountability’ to address systemic problems that date back more than 15 years.

Although a series of independent reviews into local trusts in the past had found some similar ‘failings’, including the failure to listen to women, concerns over safety, and issues with leadership and culture, this new national investigation will be going further than ever before.

The investigation will urgently look at the worst-performing maternity and neonatal services in the country, and bring together the findings of past reviews into one clear national set of actions.

The aim is to ensure every woman and baby receives high-quality and compassionate care, with the investigation consisting of two parts.

The first part will urgently investigate up to 10 of the ‘most concerning’ maternity and neonatal units across the country to give affected families the answers they deserve as quickly as possible. 

The second will then undertake a system-wide look at maternity and neonatal care to bring together lessons from past inquiries to create one clear national set of actions to improve care across every NHS maternity service.

Alongside the launch of the national investigation today, the Government has also announced that it will be establishing a ‘National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce’ that’s set to be chaired by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and made up of a panel of esteemed experts and bereaved families.

The taskforce will mainly address several issues facing maternity care in England.

One area of focus will be addressing the devastating inequalities that women from Black, Asian and deprived backgrounds face, while another area will be a look at a lack of compassionate care and concerns over safety.

The Government has launched an ‘urgent’ review into NHS maternity and neonatal care services / Credit: Jimmy Conover (via Unsplash)

“I know nobody wants better for women and babies than the thousands of NHS midwives, obstetricians, maternity and neonatal staff,” commented Health Secretary Wes Streeting, as the urgent review was launched today. “And that the vast majority of births are safe and without incident, but it’s clear something is going wrong.

“That’s why I’ve ordered a rapid national investigation to make sure families get the truth and the accountability they deserve, and ensure no parent or baby is ever let down again. 

“I want staff to come with us on this, to improve things for everyone.

“We‘re also taking immediate steps to hold failing services to account and give staff the tools they need to deliver the kind, safe, respectful care every family deserves. 

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“Maternity care should be the litmus test by which this Government is judged on patient safety, and I will do everything in my power to ensure no family has to suffer like this again.”

Featured Image – Visulass (via Unsplash)

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