Campaigners urge NHS bosses to invest in Liverpool Women's hospital

Money would be better spent improving the existing Liverpool Women’s Hospital rather than trying to “break up” services, campaigners have argued. In October, the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside board agreed on a major case for change that could mean maternity and gynaecology services are moved away from the site of the Liverpool Women's Hospital in Crown Street, Toxteth.

Health chiefs argue the biggest challenges facing these services is the fact they are located on a different site to most other acute and specialist care, which can cause problems and delays with care. Liverpool Women’s is the only specialist centre for gynaecology and maternity in the country where this is the case, but any previous attempts to change the way these services are delivered have been met with fierce resistance across the city.

In a debate on the future of the Women’s hospital during the city council’s adult social care and health committee, campaigners and community leaders have had their say on proposals, with the NHS plans being given short shrift in some quarters. A six-week public consultation on the plans came to an end yesterday.

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Dr Fiona Lemmens, deputy medical director for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside told the room how the Liverpool clinical services review identified how challenges around the Women’s were identified as “one of the most significant clinical risks for this city and one of the most important things for us to tackle in order to improve care for patients.” Among the speakers was campaigner Lesley Mahmood who spoke passionately about the repercussions of such a decision.

She said: “Given the many improvements at the women’s hospital in the last two years, including a new neo-natal unit, a new diagnostic centre for MRI and CT scans, a new medical emergency team to identify deteriorating patients, the current upgrading of gynae day proceedings and plans for a 24-7 blood bank and transfusion service, money would be better spent on Crown Street than trying to find £150m to move or to try and break up Liverpool Women’s Hospital service.” Ms Mahmood said care bosses had chosen to focus on “a small number of women who have needed transfer” and cited existing provisions at the hospital.

She added: “If the Women’s is relocated to the Royal, that won’t solve the problem of women turning up at Aintree unless the ICB intends to have maternity and gynae at both sites.” Ms Mahmood said proposed changes to the hospital are “not going to improve inequalities for women” in Liverpool 8.

Dr Lemmens said solutions for the future of midwifery care in Liverpool could not be taken forward until the NHS’ case for change had gone through a governance and public engagement process. Rebecca Smyth, a retired midwife who spent more than a decade at the Women’s hospital, also addressed the committee.

She said: “The Women’s hospital provides a safe space for women, giving specialist reproductive healthcare under one roof and should not be moved.” Ms Smyth described the Women’s as a “small hospital on a beautiful site, it’s tranquil, it doesn’t have the usual chaos of a large hospital.” Ms Smyth said a relocation of midwifery and gynae services would only exacerbate an increasing staffing crisis among nurses and midwives.

Cllr Alan Gibbons asked if the location was not to be used as a hospital, the NHS had to establish what it would be. He added: “Without a clear explanation of where these services will be sited and what services would remain at Crown Street how can elected representatives have confidence in a plan that lacks sufficient detail?”

“I am not convinced by the case for change at all.” His colleague in the Liverpool Community Independents group, Cllr Lucy Williams, said: “It’s difficult to scrutinise when there isn’t a plan or any kind of answers in here but I’d like to point out that a lot of the risks you refer to, surely those risks are as a result of years of austerity so surely the answer to that is investment in specialist NHS services like women’s health, not the merging of hospitals which will water down that specialism.”