West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper said:

“Before I was elected, I travelled on a bus from Upholland to Southport Hospital which took one hour 25 minutes! It highlighted the enormously unfair situation for West Lancashire residents.


“For as long as I have been West Lancashire MP, I have been absolutely clear, the decision to split the A&E services putting adult A&E in Southport was the wrong decision!


“If there is to be a single hospital site, Ormskirk would be the sensible and logical location. It would best and fairly serve all residents, including Southport residents because it is a central location.


“At present Upholland and Skelmersdale residents have to travel considerably further to access A&E, attend appointments or visit family patients and friends.


“It would be wholly unacceptable to repeat the same unfair mistakes and make West Lancashire residents pay the price.


“I will never accept any proposal to downgrade or close Ormskirk hospital.”

We may not agree on much but I agree here.

While services may change to give local people the best healthcare expensive investment in a new single hospital (where?) serving West Lancashire and north Sefton seems wide of the mark especially when there are mothballed wards at Ormskirk. If the government are about to increase health funding then the new Chief Exec of the hospital trust should be focused on that.