Councillors condemn Southend neonatal unit 'downgrade'

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust says services have been "re-designated"

A councillor has branded plans to "downgrade" a hospital's neonatal unit as "death by a thousand cuts".

Last year Southend Hospital's neonatal unit was re-designated as a special care unit for babies from 32 weeks.

The unit previously cared for babies from 27 weeks gestation.

Matthew Hopkins, the chief executive of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Our proposals are absolutely not about downgrading or removing services."

The trust, which manages hospitals in Southend, Basildon and Broomfield, said services were being "re-designated".

During a year-long pilot scheme, patients who were expected to give birth before 32 weeks, and any pre-term babies, were transferred from Southend to Basildon or Broomfield hospitals.

Some staff at Southend were then redeployed to the hospital's Paediatric Assessment Unit.

'Lack of transparency'

In a Southend-on-Sea Borough Council meeting on Tuesday, councillor Tricia Cowdrey said: "This temporary downgrade was done with a clear lack of transparency and a lack of consultation with staff, patients and partners."

Lydia Hyde, a Labour councillor, called for a pause on the plan and instead wanted to see up to £2m invested into the neonatal unit and a recruitment drive for more staff.

"Why are we punishing our population by saying we've failed so now you'll have downgraded services.

"What we're seeing in Southend Hospital right now is a death by a thousand cuts," she said.

'Benefit hundreds more'

However, the trust hoped to make these changes permanent after the "success" of the year-long scheme.

Mr Hopkins said: "These proposals mean we will have more expert clinicians in Southend's Paediatric Assessment Unit and this will benefit hundreds more families in Southend.

"Our focus is on providing care that offers the best outcomes and high quality care for families while making the best use of the resources we have."