Browse Sections
Interactive
Popular Sections
A passing showerNews
| 
Submit Comments
Hospitals lose baby units in shake-up
Yakub Qureshi8/12/2006
HEALTH bosses have voted to close maternity services in five Greater Manchester hospitals
A decision to cut the number of maternity and children's beds from 13 to eight hospitals was backed by health trust executives following a closely-fought vote.
The £60m move is the biggest ever shake-up in children's and maternity services in the area and will mean a concentration of resources and staff into a smaller number of sites.
Babies will no longer be routinely delivered at Trafford, Rochdale, Fairfield in Bury, or Hope in Salford.
In additions, three super centres would be based at St Mary's in Manchester, the Royal Bolton hospital, and the Royal Oldham.
These would help deliver babies to mothers in their area and handle up to 6,500 babies a year, but also treat the most seriously ill babies.
Stepping Hill in Stockport, North Manchester General in Crumpsall, Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan and Wythenshawe hospital would continue as maternity centres and also offer overnight care to sick babies.
However, in more serious cases would 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.
The remaining five 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, children's mental health services.
In addition, all 13 hospitals will develop special children's 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.
The Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts, representing members from each of the affected hospitals, narrowly voted to back the plan, which had been one of 11 courses of action included in the review.
The six-hour meeting at Manchester's 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.
Campaigners argued that the reduction 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 children's services.
The changes, which will cost £57m for new buildings and a further £10m a year, will not take places immediately but will be implemented over the next three to five years.
Health bosses say no jobs will go as a result of the changes, although some staff would be encouraged to move to different 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 the meeting.
In addition, there are plans to move the Children's 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.
For full details of the decision click on the link below, and for full local reaction see next week's Advertiser
Most recent 2 of 3 user comments
12/12/2006 at 09:57
Got an opinion you want to share?| Card | BT Fee |
| Barclaycard Platinum | 2.9% |
| Capital One BT Platinum Card | 3.0% |
| Virgin Credit Card | 2.98% |
| Barclaycard OnePulse | 2.5% |
| Egg Card | 3.0% |
| Company | Typical APR |
| Platinum Loans | 7.5% |
| Barclays | 7.9% |
| Moneyback Bank | 8.4% |
| Alliance & Leicester | 8.7% |
| Halifax (Semi-exclusive) | 8.8% |
| Bank of Scotland (Semi-exclusive) | 8.8% |
| Provider | AER* |
|
ICICI BANK HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account |
7.20% |
|
ICICI BANK HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account |
7.00% |
|
ICICI BANK HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account |
7.00% |
|
ARRAY(0x2b73a01c2d10) 6 Month Fixed Rate Savings Account |
6.60% |
12/12/2006 at 10:08