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Save Liverpool Women’s Hospital Campaign Lobby Cheshire & Merseyside ICB Meeting

The plan to remove maternity and gynaecological services from Liverpool Women's Hospital, 10 years in the making, was agreed!

The intended closure of Liverpool's Women's Hospital was to be cemented in decision at this morning's extra-ordinary Integrated Care Board meeting at the Holiday Inn in Lime Street. This was required in order to ensure the ICB's timetable for the re siting of the unique services this hospital specialises in, can be moved to one of Liverpool's other Hospitals, and the site used for alternative clinics and treatments, or for sell off to a private healthcare company as spiculated by many.

Save Liverpool Women's Hospital Campaign supporters

Campaigners from the Save Liverpool Women's Hospital pressure group which has gathered over 70,000 public signatures and the endorsement of Sir Paul McCartney, made their presence known to the general public and to show their continued opposition to these dangerous and misconceived plans. Instead of boosting the Hospital's services with additional funding, clinical staff and emergency services on site, the Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care Board, part of the US styled healthcare system replacing the NHS in 42 autonomous Integrated Care Systems; prefers to close the site down and destroy the specialisms built up since 1995, and uniquely the only maternity/gynaecological specialisms in the whole of England.

Kevin Donovan from the Keep Our NHS Public Merseyside group took the photo to the right before they moved into the Holiday Inn where the ICB meeting took place.

Publishing the photo with comment on his FaceBook feed he said:

"This morning outside the ICB charade. Some of its members pledged to "first do no harm".

Now they pledge to ensure the future of American health insurance corporations."

Reports that tensions ran high during the ICB meeting, which despite the Echo claiming otherwise, was not an NHS Board meeting but Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System board meeting agreed the long-term aim of the Healthcare bosses on Merseyside to transfer maternity and gynaecological services away from the current site of Liverpool Women's Hospital and place it with either the smaller new Royal Hospital or within the Aintree Hospital grounds in order to save money.

Despite there being no availability in the new and smaller Royal Liverpool Hospital, and the need to build a completely new building within the grounds of the Royal, it is quite clear that this is a matter on which no risk assessment has been done, no impact assessment done; and evidence made to fit the argument of taking the maternity and gynaecological services out of Toxteth Liverpool 8.

Given the major shock reports about England’s maternity services, the increase in birth deaths, and the fact that black women are more likely to suffer deaths of babies, and mothers due to a number of factors, one of which is been identified as racism; opinions within those communities who trust the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, and have been campaigning against its closure as a maternity hospital is that this is a mere act f racist vandalism which will cost lives!

Today's crunch meeting about the future of Liverpool Women's Hospital erupted into angry protests as health bosses were labelled 'liars' and told they will have 'blood on their hands' if plans to move maternity services away from the hospital go ahead.

The ongoing 10 year long debate surrounding the intended relocation of Liverpool Women's Hospital services has sparked significant public outrage and tension, as demonstrated at today's Cheshire and Merseyside ICB meeting at the Holiday Inn in Lime Street.

Health officials are proposing that maternity and gynaecological services, currently based at Crown Street, be moved to a larger acute hospital like the Royal Liverpool Hospital or the Aintree Hospital in the North of the City. The rationale behind this suggestion is that being on a separate site from acute and emergency care can jeopardize timely treatment for pregnant women or those with gynaecological conditions, particularly in emergencies.

However, no actions to locate additional emergency services within the site has ever been suggested or considered in the almost 30 years the hospital has existed!

NHS leaders argue that Liverpool Women's Hospital is unique in being the only specialist centre for these services not co-located with a larger hospital, and that this situation compromises the holistic and immediate care women might need when they visit other acute sites like the Royal or Aintree.

Over 2,000 women each year present at these hospitals without access to specialist maternity care, which Local Health Service officials claim needs to be addressed.

Dr. Lynn Greenhalgh and Dr. Fiona Lemmens emphasized that the distance between Crown Street and larger hospital sites can be a significant issue in emergency situations. This despite the fact that what is being suggested will still leave other hospitals without emergency services in maternity and gynaecology!

However, these arguments have been met with strong opposition from the community. Campaigners, including members of the Save Liverpool Women's Campaign, the Keep Our NHS Public Merseyside group and the Defend Our NHS campaign are fighting to keep services at the Crown Street site, which holds significant sentimental and practical value to many in Liverpool. They argue that dispersing services would represent gender inequality and undermine the specialized care women receive at Liverpool Women’s.

Public emotions ran high at the meeting, with accusations of dishonesty and claims that health leaders would have "blood on their hands" if the move goes ahead.

Despite the impassioned protests, NHS leaders insist that no concrete decisions have been made yet, though they acknowledge the need for change to ensure women receive appropriate care in emergencies. Given that there has not been a roper set of proposals received by any of the campaigners, and that this has been tried before, no one believes a single word written or spoken by the current set of leaders of the ISB!

The debate remains contentious, reflecting deep concerns over the potential loss of a valued and trusted local institution at best, and at worst the major risk of to life of mothers and their babies from downgrading the expertise within the City, making further destruction of the UK's maternity services and women's health.

Cheshire And Merseyside Integrated Care Board 9th October 2024 - Supported ending
Women's Health & Maternity healthcare at Liverpool Women's Hospital

Save Liverpool Women's Hospital Campaign website gives a thorough and detailed report of the their response to the ICB's plans, complete with videos of their campaign members speaking at today's meeting, including the key aims of their campaign:

1. Fund Maternity well nationally.
2. Respect women, improve the experience of giving birth, and deliver timely gynaecological care.
3. Fund the NHS well.
4. Listen to the people.
5. Act now to avoid the winter crisis, with patients dying because of the long waits.
6. Keep Liverpool Women’s on the Crown Street Site and staff it well, with all the specialisms required to improve care and minimise transfers out of LWH. Give it long-term security.
7. Improve the intensive care at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
8. Make all hospitals work cooperatively, not as competing organisations.
9. Protect the Emergency Departments at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
10. Provide emergency Obstetric and Gynaecological care at the A and E at the Royal and Aintree.
11. Nationally, address the workforce training issues that have resulted in shortages of key roles, like anaesthetists.
12. Make the NHS a great place to work.
13. Act against the racism that damages the health of women and babies health.
14. Address the chronic poverty that is so severely affecting our children.
15. End privatisation in its many forms.

You can also watch the videos of the Campaigner's interventions at the meeting by clicking on the image below, which takes you to the Campaign's website:

Their campaign has gained major publicity via the local newspaper.

The Liverpool Echo's Liam Thorp, in a report of the meeting published in the newspaper stated that:

'Campaigners have vowed to fight any bid to move these services away from Crown Street and promised to make their voices known at the meeting at the Holiday Inn in Lime Street today - they certainly did that. Tensions were high throughout as members of the public chanted loudly and levelled accusations at the health board. One suggested those in charge will have 'blood on their hands' if the proposed changes go through, while another loudly labelled the health leaders as 'a bunch of liars.' At various points the meeting was paused as chanting broke out and signs were held aloft.'

Quoting one person as saying:

'...those in charge will have 'blood on their hands' if the proposed changes go through. With another proclaimed loudly that the health leaders are 'a bunch of liars.' At various points the meeting was paused as chanting broke out as some of the public attending held signs above their heads and in front of them.

The echo report continued:

'A number of members of the Save Liverpool Women's campaign, who have fought previous proposals to move services away from Crown Street, addresses the meeting with impassioned speeches.

Lesley Mahmood questioned how the process was being run, adding: "Women in Liverpool 8 regard the Crown Street hospital as a safe space. The dispersal of services will not fit with specialist services for women and that is surely gender inequality." Ms Mahmood was loudly cheered as she added: "We want the Women's Hospital to stay at Crown Street."

One of the most impassioned interventions made, featured an NHS worker who stood as an independent candidate in the recent General Election, who accused the members of the ICB (Integrated Care Board) present at the meeting of dishonesty and disingenuous promises.

The Echo reported NHS nurse Ann San as saying:

"I remember hearing years ago that the Liverpool Women's Hospital was going to close. I was one of those people saying that they would never close it, it is the jewel in the crown of this city. I can't believe that nine years later we are sitting here talking about it.

You have paid an awful lot of lip service to what people have said here today. You are going to have blood on your hands. Princess Diana opened that unit, she would be turning in her grave. She added: "We can't trust anything you say because you are a bunch of liars."

Once this part of the meeting was concluded, ICB leaders attempted to justify their reasons behind the case for maternity services being moved away from the current Liverpool Women's hospital site.

Liverpool Women's medical director Lynn Greenhalgh was quoted by the Echo as saying: "Women who go to the Royal or Aintree are not getting the care that they want from a midwife, those conversations are not happening. We don’t think they are getting the holistic care that they need."

Of course the reason for that is that the ICB believes putting this in place would be 'duplicating services', a concept and viewpoint that is straight out of the US Healthcare gurus, Kaiser Permanante, whose sole aim is to deny healthcare and increase profit!

Dr Fiona Lemmens, the deputy medical director for Merseyside and Cheshire even highlighted a map showing the distances between the Women's and the acute hospital sites in Liverpool.

She gave an otherwise ignored argument when it comes to other clinical departments, that when an emergency occurs, any distance is a problem.

Of course she said this without making clear that the ICB aims of placing healthcare in certain designated hospitals and reducing duplication of services to cut costs and staff numbers; also creates that risk. E.G. people with broken hips being transferred from a hospital in city centre to Aintree in the North of the City. Broken hips can be fatal for elderly patients.

Disingenuously, she tried to put blame on the Liverpool Women's Hospital for the fact that Liverpool is unique in that all other specialist centres for maternity and gynaecology in England are co-located alongside larger, acute and emergency hospital services.

She ignored the fact that this was a matter of choice taken by the then heads of local NHS bosses and that there is no evidence of deaths caused by transferring of patients from e.g. Wirral's Arrowe Park Hospital across the Mersey, to Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital!

Dr Lemmens, who insisted there are currently no concrete proposals on the table, said it is 'too early to speculate' about what services could look like at Crown Street if maternity and gynaecological services are moved away, but added the board is "absolutely committed to NHS services being delivered on that site."

In reality, the Liverpool Women's Hospital fits in with Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board's aims of placing clinical expertise in specific Hospitals of choice, thereby cutting costs, staffing levels and allowing the closing of buildings along with the sharing of staff across the various sites within he ICS.

This leaves the decision to close the Liverpool Women's Hospital illogical, damaging and one of mere wishing to remove women's health and maternity services out of Toxteth and way from a predominantly black and ethnic majorities community!

Defend Our NHS Campaign have pointed out this pertinent fact:

'One local doctor has noted about the related paper for the board meeting. "This seems to be a rather odd document because it talks all the time about 'the case for change', without a specific proposal. Indeed at the beginning it says it ‘does not seek to provide proposals or solutions’. How can anyone know whether something better or worse is being proposed?"

The last and most important words come from the Save Liverpool Women's Hospital Campaign:

The board of the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System has failed to put forward details of its latest attempt to close Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Without the long and publicly-promised consultation before proposals were made, we are faced with determination from the ICB to close our much needed hospital.

Our campaign rejects any attempts to close, merge, disperse or
cut services for the women and babies of the whole area.  None of the half-suggestions in the papers will improve anything for women or babies.

Such papers are impossible to evaluate without a financial statement, research background, and impact assessment; all are missing from the proposals.

The financial background for the whole NHS is grim. The last government's financial plans and policies are still in place.

The ICB in Liverpool is in serious financial trouble. There is a looming winter crisis. NHS England has said that the trusts must squeeze staff costs, and there is no change to surge extra beds and social care resources as they did last year. We have consistently challenged the ICB on this.

Liverpool Women’s has structural financial problems. The largest maternity service in the country is most impacted by the inadequate maternity tariff. Financial problems are not mentioned in the paperwork. No other hospital can improve on the Liverpool Women’s Hospital maternity service without improved funding.

Proposing  to close our hospital in the traditionally Black area of Liverpool, in an area of hardship, just weeks after the worst examples of racism the city has seen in decades is disgusting.

Source: Liverpool Echo / Save LiverpoolWomen's Hospital Campaign / Keep Our NHS Public Merseyside / Defend Our NHS / Felicity Dowling

 

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