Consultation to look at closing children's A&E unit

The NHS said closing the current A&E department in Ormskirk is its "preferred option"

Major changes to hospital services in West Lancashire and Sefton are being planned, which could include the closure of the children's Accident and Emergency unit in Ormskirk.

The NHS said closing the current A&E department in Ormskirk and moving it to Southport was its "preferred option".

It said it would be £45m cheaper than having a combined A&E department in Ormskirk and would address "inefficiencies, workforce pressures, and fragmented care delivery".

A meeting today was set to agree a 13-week formal consultation.

'Long-term solutions'

Southport children's A&E department was closed 20 years ago and children currently had to travel to Ormskirk for emergency care, where the opening hours were limited to between 08:00 and midnight during the pandemic and were never reinstated.

A report to a meeting of the Shaping Care Together joint committee, led by Cheshire and Merseyside and Lancashire and South Cumbria Trusts, said it was looking to "explore long-term solutions for high-quality, sustainable care".

It said it currently "faces pressures from aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, financial challenges, and rising patient demand".

"With increasing population aging and complexity in care needs, maintaining duplicate services across two sites is unsustainable," it said.