Government wades into debate over future of Liverpool Women's Hospital

A senior government minister has said hospital services must be “deliverable and fundable” as the future of Liverpool Women’s Hospital remains unknown. 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 existing hospital site on 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.

Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, raised the future of the hospital in Parliament on Thursday. Speaking during business questions, Ms Johnson said: “Liverpool Women’s Hospital in my Liverpool Riverside constituency is the only specialist gynaecology and maternity service in the country, yet these services are under threat due to the NHS case for change."

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Ms Johnson asked Lucy Powell MP, leader of the House of Commons, for a debate on retaining services on Crown Street during government time. Ms Powell said: “I’m very familiar with the important services that she describes in Liverpool and in her constituency.

“What we inherited when it came to the hospital programme was a work of fiction from the previous government and we are determined to make sure that any commitments around local hospital services are both deliverable and fundable and that is what we’re setting out to do. I will certainly make sure the health secretary has heard her plea today and that she gets a full reply about her local hospital.”

In a post on social media, Ms Johnson added: "It’s clear the public engagement meetings have not been fit for purpose. We need urgent action to safeguard these vital services for women and families across Merseyside."

A six-week public consultation on the plans came to an end this week with a decision expected by 2026. On Tuesday, Dr Fiona Lemmens, deputy medical director for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside told members of the city council’s adult social care and health committee 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.”