Last week the Conservatives and the Chair of Southport and Ormskirk Hospital Trust announced the hospital’s future is safe.



Southport’s Conservative MP stated:

“I want to make it perfectly clear: Southport and Formby District Hospital will remain open; the urgent response centre will remain open; and residents will continue to receive first-class health care.”

Meanwhile, the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) bosses announced last week, at the end of Parliament, when there was no time for scrutiny or Parliamentary Questions that they were going to look at the sustainability of Southport and Ormskirk Hospital – both of these statements cannot be true. The STP announcement casts a long shadow over the future of Southport and Ormskirk Hospital.

West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper said:

“The right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing about Southport and Ormskirk Hospital. It’s a disgrace that the STP should announce a review into the hospital at the end of the Parliamentary term when ministers can’t be questioned about it. The STP and the Government need to be clear – will the hospital in its present form remain open – yes or no?

“I have demanded a meeting with the STP leaders with the Chair and Chief Executive of Southport and Ormskirk Hospital present to try and discover the truth of their plans.

“Southport A&E is already threatened by the STP, this move threatens the hospital and the people of West Lancashire will not put up with services being reduced any more. Already services such as the urgent care and out of hours services have been privatised and my constituents have found them less than satisfactory.

“The urgent care centre used to be open 8am – 10pm, slowly but surely that has been reduced and now closes at 8pm which reduces its value to my constituents. I’m already worried that the urgent care centre does not always have a GP on duty. I call on NHS bosses to explain why we are seeing West Lancashire’s NHS services threatened and eroded by the day.”