A proposal to transfer a number of critical cases from Liverpool Women’s Hospital to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital has been agreed.
The Board of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside approved the proposal at a meeting last Thursday, arguing it will improve the safety of maternity services. The plan will now be subject to a public consultation before a final decision to go ahead can be reached.
The Board said there is more specialist medical treatment available for high-risk patients at the Royal.
However, there have been concerns from the campaign group ‘Save Liverpool Women’s Hospital’ who feel that this may be the first step towards a complete transferral of all services away from the Women’s Hospital, something that was proposed in 2016.
The group, who meet most Saturdays in the city centre of Liverpool on Bold Street, are campaigning for more funding to be put into services and into the staffing of the Women’s Hospital.
A report published by the Care Quality Commission found that 66.7% of maternity services in England that were reviewed were rated as ‘inadequate’ or ‘needs improvement’, with the Women’s being rated as ‘good’ across all areas.
Co-founder of Save Liverpool Women’s Hospital, Felicity Dowling said: “It’s a much-loved hospital”. She added: “There’s a maternity crisis nationally, the Women’s is not immune from it.”
Ms Dowling stressed the importance of female-led care, she added: “The ethos that it is for women actually matters.”
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside are set to meet in the summer of this year to engage with the public before making a final decision on the transfer of patients.
Featured image courtesy Rodhullandemu. Used under Creative Commons License. License link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roundabout_statue_at_Liverpool_Women%27s_Hospital.jpg#Licensing
