HEALTH bosses have voted for a radical shake-up of maternity and childrenés services across Greater Manchester
The é60m move will mean the closure of maternity services in four hospitals and the creation of three super centres, delivering state-of-the-art care to the most seriously ill children.
The number of baby and childrenés beds will be cut as a result of the plan, which was backed be health trust executives yesterday after a closely-fought vote.
And they will be based in just eight hospitals, instead of the current 13.
As part of the plans three super centres would be based at St Maryés Hospital, in Manchester, the Royal Bolton Hospital and the Royal Oldham Hospital.
As well as delivering babies to mothers in their area, handling up to 6,500 babies a year, they will also treat the most seriously ill babies from across the region
Meanwhile Stepping Hill, in Stockport, North Manchester General, in Crumpsall, Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, in Wigan, and Wythenshawe hospitals will continue as maternity centres.
These centres will offer overnight care to sick babies, but in more serious cases the babies would be transferred to the nearest super centre by a specialised ambulance, which would contain an incubator and staffed by a nurse and doctor.
Babies will no longer be routinely delivered at Trafford, Rochdale, Fairfield in Bury, Hope in Salford. The remaining four hospitals will not be used to deliver babies and will no longer offer in-patient or general surgery for children or neo-natal care. However mothers can still visit any hospital to get ante and post natal care and all hospitals will continue to offer day surgery, childrenés mental health services.
Health bosses also voted to down-grade Macclesfield Hospital, but at the last minute the executive representing the hospitalés PCT withdrew the trust from the review.
They had voluntarily asked to join the Greater Manchester review at their own request, but yesterday opted to make its own decision on the changes following the decision - saying they would consider their options.
In addition, all the hospitals included in the review will develop special childrenés centres - located next to accident and emergency wards - to provide special casualty care in a less intimidating setting.
Health bosses claim that up to 30 newborn babies could be saved every year because of the changes, which are part of the Making It Better review.
Yesterday, the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts, representing members from each of the affected hospitals, narrowly voted to back the plans, which had been one of 11 courses of action included in the review.
The six-hour meeting at Manchesterés New Century Hall, in front of an audience of around 150 campaigners and medical staff, saw the executives back the plan, after a proposal to retain services at Fairfield hospital at the expense of North Manchester hospital was narrowly defeated by seven votes to four.
Health bosses said current services are spread too thin and bigger centres are needed to give doctors and nurses more experience of serious cases.
Neonatal consultant Dr Anthony Emmerson, who had been medical advisor for the review, said: "This will very much benefit people because we are improving the quality of service.
"We have to remember that the majority of babies do not require a long hospital stay and will not require a stay of several nights so very little will change on a day-to-day basis. But for those who do need the support we will be able to provide a better facility, which is better staffed with experienced professionals."
Campaigners argued that as a result of the changes in services expectant mothers and sick children in some areas would now have to travel further to access care.
But senior doctors say the majority of patients would still be within 30 minutes of a maternity hospital, although acknowledged that some would face longer journeys because of the changes.
They also pointed out plans to increase the number of community nurses specialising in childrenés services.
The changes, which will cost é57million for new buildings and a further é10million a year, will not take place immediately, but will be implemented over the next three to five years.
Backers of the plan emphasised that no jobs would be lost as a result of the changes é although midwives and some consultants would be given the opportunity to move to other sites.
The decision was made following a painstaking consultation, claimed to be the biggest ever in NHS history.
During a four-month public survey earlier this year, nearly 242,000 people made their views known. The responses led to a further seven options being added to the initial four, all of which were considered at yesterdayés meeting.
Campaigners from Bury and Rochdale were incensed at the decision, arguing that cutting maternity services in Fairfield and Rochdale Infirmary would mean parents having to travel even further.
Paul Rowen, Rochdale MP, said: "I am hugely disappointed. Effectively the north of the city has been given nothing. Parents in Rochdale and Bury will now have to travel further than ever. Eighteen out of 20 consultants in our hospital are opposed to this and their views as professionals have been involved."
Backers of the review said that the cost of adapting Rochdale would be double that of other sites because there was no extra space on site and it would cost more to purchase and develop new land.
In addition, there are plans to move the Childrenés Hospital at Booth Hall to a new site based in Central Manchester. This would continue to offer a range of specialised services for children with more complicated conditions.
What do you think of the closures? Have your say.
Tweet
Comments
Login or Register to comment
i am absolutely outraged! what a sham these big wigs need a good shake up themselves never mind the nhs. people of rochdale need these services with the evergrowing asian population i'm surprised that this wasn't even considered. what about the staff nobody i know wants to work at oldham or manchester its more travelling time for them and less time with their own families. what if they can't staff these so called super hospitals? its the people of rochdale fairfield and the others that will suffer! absolutely disgusting!!!
Disgusting.
i am disgusted at the health bosses decision to close hope hospital's maternity unit as this will cause a great deal of stress for new mothers to be in the future.I for one would have had my third child in the car had it not have been for hope's maternity unit it was only 30mins from me leaving my house to me giving birth so had i needed to travel i would have been in a very dangerous situation as i could have bleed to death due to complications after i had given birth so you see you health bosses its not about having super centres its about having a local hospital that can provide a good standard of service to the local people who need it!
As a midwife and a mother I feel very strongly against such plans. Today is a very sad day for Salford families. Centralising services in "super" centres will lead to less choice and impersonal care for labouring mums. Salford has a thriving Birth Centre as well as a well respected obstetric and noenatal unit. Many innovations in midwifery, obstetric and neonatal care have come from this unit and now it will be closed.
I only hope that the Trust, the Council and the people of Salford will work together to fight this closure.
To many people on such a small island ?and things will only get worse??
My son popped out at Fairfield this August - the staff were brilliant if a little rushed off their feet.
On leaving with my new born I noticed a sign outside - Opened by Cherie Blair in 2000 or there abouts. I thought...
(1) Typical - open it at great expense then shut it down a few years later !
(2) It really is the kiss of death having a heavyweighted political figure endorsing your establishment !
(3) If the staff there are rushed off their feet, normal business sense would say "don't close it - give it more staff".
¿¿51M + ¿¿10M pa on buildings and facilities that within 5 years will be swamped with patients.
Where is the investment in people? - we are told that these services are stretched too thin across the region, I would like to see an increase in paediatric healthcare professionals encouraged.
Is the best answer really to consolidate the experience into the 'super-centres'?
I was unable to attend the review and would like to know what other serious proposals were made.
Due to a chronic condition my child is regularly admitted to hospital. To make sure that we can get him to the best care, we will have to rely on the ambulance service to decide where he should be admitted.
Tameside General Hospital also keep their women and children services, that isn't mentioned. Is that because you only report the bad news from Tameside and not the good???
The decision was clear cut from the start and the money spent on the consultation could have been spent on saving at least one of the other lost units.
1. Shame on you the decision makers - Life is priced too low and too cheap these days as well as the investments made in Fairfield and Rochdale maternity services. Nothing is more important than new life and this should not have a cost or saving.
2. What happened to local health care from the patient led NHS?
3. So all this stress will save 30 babies lives. Let us all pray to our Gods that no babies die trying to access the services, travelling through rush-hour traffic, trying to park at already busy sites or through any other clinical, physical or emotional stress
Rochdale and Bury health services can hear the death knell - another nail in it's expanding coffin
I believe it is absolutely appalling that the people of Rochdale and Bury are going to have to travel many miles to give birth. There was nothing wrong with the fantastic maternity unit at the Birch Hill site, the people of Rochdale have been duped all along, we have been cheated and lied to for many years regarding our health provision in the town. The Birch Hill site could have easily been developed but instead we were promised better services at the infrimary site, and now look at what is happening there.Its disgusting it makes me so angry that we will be left without adequate medical and surgical services.Rochdale is highly populated with ethnic and poorer minority groups who have a higher dependency on adequate medical services and it will be these groups of people who will suffer the most.
It's disgraceful as an antenatal teacher for the national childbirth trust womens choices are being marginanlised yet again.
on the posiitve side lets hope the midwives will now encourage more home births where appropriate to do so
Its a shame these hospitals are going to loose there maternity units. I had 2 of my children at Hope my last one was a home delivery. The care I had was fantastic. I had my first son at 16. I had my first daughter at hope last year. She had breathing problems and was in special care for 4 days. The care and support we had was fantastic. My second daughter was born at home as I now live in Blackley, if I would have still lived in Eccles she too would have been born at Hope.
This is again all about money.
The politicians are replacing doctors by nurses who have been given inadequate training. Senior nurses are moving into management post and supporting roles for doctors; leaving even less nurses to deliver care.
This is a helathcare doomed to fail. The planning of the NHS is worse than thirld world's healthcare planning.
The governement will never learn until the public has taught them a lesson.
What ever the politics of this decision and it is a political
decision as a resident of Salford ( which Iam told is a City) it is sad THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE PEOPLE BORN IN THE CITY OF SALFORD
Therefore all future records of births will show that there is a city in the UK where nobody
is ever born
(a very sad politcal fact )
Where can we therefore put a sentiment like Salford born & bred, This decision will continue to down grade Salford to a backwater of MANCHESTER
An absolutely outrageous decision based on so called expert opinions, disregarding the majority of the general publics wishes.
To say that lives will be saved is to predict that all babies and children will be in the right place at the right time. As more and more houses are being built, the population inevitably expending, services are being taken away from the community whilst traffic is generated at an alarming volume. Can we really expect a mother in labour, a sick baby or child, to access specialist care quickly with roads clogged with vehicles, motorway lanes consistently being closed on a daily basis, as they negotiate their way from one side of the town to another.
Are ambulances going to cope with the added volume of patients who will expect them to "taxi" them quickly to hospital, whereas before the car or public transport would have been used?
My childrens' lives are worth more than the postcode lottery that now dictates their ability to receive health care quickly.
This is a sad time for all concerned.
i work at hope hospital, im so sad this is happening it's all so wrong! all the staff are wonderful a real hard working team! NHS trust you should be very ASHAMED of this! And to all mother's of salford who will have to travel for there care who are sometimes haveing a difficult pregnancy. Im disgusted and will strive to fight this closure......
Contrary to pulic belief and opinion, these decisions are borne out of evidence. The fact is that it is impossible financially, staffing wise and expertise wise to run so many units at once providing every service. I am new to the area but know that Rochdale and Bury are not far from Oldham and North Manchester where services will be improved. AND contrary to popular belief, many doctors back these changes!!!!!
People should write to their MPs to complain. What have we elected them for????!! From the experience of 3 members of my own family giving birth recently it appears that Maternity Units around the country are already failing to provide enough beds and they are trying to tell us that they will improve the situation by closing beds. Add to that the fact that there are more and more people arriving in this country who will need the services. It is such short term thinking. People already struggle to park in Manchester and yet St. Mary's has been chosen as one of sites for the new Maternity Centre. Once this is up and running they'll be telling us that ambulances are in short supply. This is about one thing only, saving money. The public will not be hoodwinked by any other argument. There is always a plentiful supply of money whenever we want to go to war though. I am simply appalled!
I may one day be in the majority, a person born outside of the city of Salford who lives there, as every baby will soon have been born a Boltonian or Mancunian. I'm all for improved services, but how can it be that a mother who may have potential complications might have to travel further to receive treatment, with the risk to her and the baby of delays as a result, and this is called improvements? I only hope they know what they are doing.
I think that it is absutly disgusting that Hope Hosiptal should lose its maternity.
The staff there work very hard and try and make the patients stay as plesant as possible.
Both my children were born at Hope, and I couldnt have wanted any better care than what I received.
When are these big bosses going to listern to the general public?, because at the end of the day it is the public that keeps them in their jobs.
The ambulance staff and paramedics had better brush up on their skills for delivering babies. I should imagine a far greater number will not make the distance from Eccles to central manchester. I wouldn't be surprised either if the number choosing home births rose dramatically as a result of these maternity service closures !!!
Is this the beginning of the end for Trafford General Hospital? The Maternity care offered at the hospital is of a very high quality as research proves in the extremely low incidents of fatalities. Is the Maternity unit a victim of it's own success? The hospital has seen the birth of my own two children and more recently my two grandchildren one of which spent the first few weeks of his life in the excellent Special Care Baby unit. During his stay my daughter was able to express breast milk and get it to the hospital with ease. She didn't have to travel great distances through the ever increasing traffic before trying to find a place to park.or as in her case to catch a bus whilst bearing in mind that the milk is best delivered within an hour. Could this be guaranteed if she had had to travel further? Can you imagine doing this with other young children in tow? We are constantly told that the children are our future but the closures give the message that the most vunerable members of are society don't really matter. All the consultation in the world would not have altered the fact that we in Trafford are going to lose the vital local hospital services to mothers and children within traveling distances of our homes. A great deal of the proposed new operatons will not in my opinion increase the quality of care already in place. As we know it is easy to doctor (ha ha) figures to make them say whatever is required by those wishing to make the cutbacks. Now is the time for the people of Trafford to make a stand. Cutbacks are going to happen and we need to do something about it now before we have even less services in this so called wealthy Borough whose inhabitants must be making a great deal of contributions to the N.H.S. Come on, other Manchester areas are not just sitting back and some have the backing of hospital staff including Consultants in fighting their cause. What do others think? I am looking forward to hearing if I stand alone in my opinions or not.
A worried Trafford Citizen
I think the biggest issue here is that it is asking people to change the way they think about healthcare- we are used to having one of every service at every site. But as health needs change, it has a direct hit on finances and thus we need to change theway we work. Currently services are working with skeletal staff because they are too spread out- this means patients might be at risk. however, centralised services will help to make sure we have the best services available. Maternity is a particularly sensitive area- are people really bothered about the fact that no babies will be born if rochdale, as long as the baby is healthy? Sure there may be some risks involved if complications occur in the late stages- but those risks are there anyway- esp with the thin service we have now.
Its time people moved away from having a metnal block any only seeing the word 'closure' and look at what is actually being proposed here.
Brilliant, no Neonatal cots in the south of the city, so the people of Derbyshire who used either Wythenshawe or stockport will have to travel even further. It will be the same for East Cheshire's mum's and dad's. No very equitable.
When I went to the initial public meetings Wythenshawe scored high in deprivation and small sick babies above Oldham and Bolton, what happened to those numbers??
I work in South Manchester, it is the third busiest unit in Manchester which has a significant number of poorly small babies, St Mary's is not growing in maternity capacity, so our babies will be born and then moved. This is not evidence based, the evidence says deliver at the hospital, so our mums will have to travel a huge distance, then deliver. Wythenshawe area scores high in deprivation with low incomes and high unemployment, so how are our mum's supposed to travel around Manchester to Bolton or Oldham to see their babies. We also cover Maccelsfield, Stockport and into Derbyshire what about them??? And some docotors did not agree with the whole process, 4 units was what the clincians wanted initially, but they were bullied by St Mary's.