A proposal to transfer a number of critical cases from Liverpool Women’s Hospital to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital has now been agreed.
This was decided following a meeting last Thursday by the Board of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, who say this will improve the safety of maternity services.
This, they say, is because there is more access to specialist medical treatment available for high-risk patients.
There have been concerns from the campaign group ‘Save Liverpool Women’s Hospital’ however, who feel that this may be the first step towards a complete transferal of the Women’s Hospital as this was something that was proposed in 2016.
Protesters for Save Liverpool Women’s Hospital holding a banner. Photo (c) Rebecca Thompson
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 Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
A report published by the Care Quality Commission found that 66.7% of maternity services 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” and that “There’s a maternity crisis nationally, the Women’s is not immune from it.”
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.