Calls for return of emergency service in Merseyside to end parents' 'torture'

There are fresh calls to reinstate a children's A&E department at Southport hospital with one local councillor saying the time is now right to end the 'torturous' journeys parents have to make for 'basic reassurance'. It is more than 20 years since the closure of Southport and Formby District Hospital's children's accident and emergency service which prompted a 25-year campaign to have the provision reinstated in the town

This advocacy will now be given fresh impetus after two motions were submitted for debate at the next full Sefton Council meeting on Thursday November 14. Cllr Dr. John Pugh is the elected representative for Dukes ward and is calling for a re-examination of the case so that children can be treated and triaged at the hospital in Kew.

Cllr Pugh said the return of the children's A&E department is something Southport residents have been demanding for more than a quarter of century and he believes now is the time to get it done. He said: "There are two clear reasons for hope.

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"There is strong political unity amongst local politicians on the need for change and secondly there is an on going review by the NHS of local emergency services. The NHS would not be consulting if they weren't considering change."

Cllr Pugh was drawing attention to the ongoing consultation taking place examining the future of health and care services across Southport, Formby and West Lancashire. The consultation meetings are part of the Shaping Care Together (SCT) which is a partnership programme between Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and the Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria.

The programme involves some NHS services provided in Southport, Formby and West Lancashire and includes the district hospitals in Southport and Ormskirk as well as several community hospital sites and services. The SCT aims to improve the quality of healthcare in Southport, Formby, and West Lancashire, including the future of emergency services.

Earlier this year, Southport MP Patrick Hurley called on the Trust to reinstate the children's A&E department, with children currently having to travel to Ormskirk A&E for emergency care or travel to Alder Hey should care be required after midnight. The department had previously been a 24-hour service until the Covid-19 pandemic when it announced it would close between midnight and 8am.

In a social media post from September, Mr Hurley said: "Our town is big enough to justify a full, functioning emergency department for both adults and children. Having a dedicated Children’s A&E would mean quicker response times, less stress for parents, and, most importantly, better health outcomes for our children."

In the motion to be submitted to Sefton Council later this week, cllr Pugh formally requests health service chiefs to confirm their ongoing commitment to maintaining an A&E department at Southport Hospital and that they extend provision to allow children to be treated and triaged there 'when appropriate and clinically safe'. Cllr Pugh added this case has been bolstered by the reduction in service at Ormskirk Children's Casualty department

Cllr Pugh sad: "There seems no reason why Southport A&E with proper support from Alder Hey cannot function like every other A&E department in the country and admit children.

"Most injuries to children are minor and to force anxious Southport parents to take the tortuous route by car to Ormskirk for basic reassurance has never made a lot of sense. Hopefully the new crop of NHS chiefs are ready for a re-think.”