Liverpool Women's Hospital: Protest against relocation threat

People gathered at the hospital amid concerns the site could be closed and moved elsewhere

A protest has been held at a Liverpool hospital threatened with relocation.

People gathered outside Liverpool Women's Hospital to voice their concerns after a report found the trust risks becoming "financially unviable".

Kathryn Thomson, the hospital's chief executive, previously said the hospital did not get enough NHS money to fund sufficient staffing and was considering several options, including relocation.

More than 26,000 people have signed a petition opposing the site's closure.

The hospital board has met to approve a financial plan for the 20-year-old site.

Ms Thomson said: "Any decisions about how services are delivered in the future will be made with the full consultation of our staff, our patients and the wider general public.

"Any recommendations about future service provision will not be driven by budget concerns but by our ambition to deliver the very best healthcare to women and babies."

Campaigner Lesley Mahmood said she feared the hospital could be amalgamated into the nearby Royal Liverpool Hospital.

Kelly Butchard, from Huyton, said one of her sons was not breathing when he was born at the Women's Hospital and was saved by the staff there.

She said she was "eternally grateful" and would be "devastated" if it closed.