Is Southport now set to lose its Adults

Not happy with wrecking public confidence in the local health care facilities by relocating our children’s A&E, maternity and other services the NHS Trust are now apparently set on a course to deny us more vital health services.

It has been reported in the local press that more NHS cuts are set to face Merseyside and North Cheshire hospitals that have total debts of £43m

A study by the strategic health authority (SHA) found Southport and Ormskirk trust was facing a £20.4m deficit next year - worse than the £14.6m predicted for 2005-6.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has been subjected to ridicule for denying patient care will suffer, as hospitals delay costly operations. NHS trusts across England have recently announced more than 4,000 job losses as they struggle to balance their books, among fears that up to 20,000 staff could be at jeopardy. The Department of Health (DoH) in January announced that external experts would be sent into Southport and Ormskirk Trust to help cap the economic black hole by the end of this month.

It is planned to apparently transfer the casualty department at Southport hospital to Ormskirk, in spite of the fact it that it only moved in the other direction in July last year.

Recent reports have now it seems advocated that the DoH must take more action via sending in its own "turnaround team" to find a way out of the current predicament. What this will cost the taxpayer must be alarming.

Southport Hospital is apparently making a £500,000 surplus, but is dragged downhill by Ormskirk Hospital which is claimed to be running up a £6.5m deficit.

Southport and Formby have a combined population of some 120.000 residents. We are not some tiny country village. We have a flourishing tourism industry too which brings in millions of visitors per year.

What are we going to tell them now about the NHS plans to remove yet more emergency services – will it really be worth living in a town that cannot provide such basis life-saving facilities for locals and visitors alike?

Whatever happened to the NHS claims of a 'Ormskirk hot - Southport cold' site proposition, does this no longer apply?

The reasoning given by authorities for removing previous services is that Southport has a high population of elderly residents. CARES would like to ask the question:

What happens to the other vulnerable members of our society now both age spectrums of our community are being forced to seek medical attention in a town which is not easily accessed, has very poor transport provisions and in an emergency could be a matter of life or death.

This also goes AGAINST Professor Robert Shields report which our local NHS/PCT have been very quick to defend in the past.

CARES would now like to point out that when the Shields Report was originated it was a workable document to the authorities, however the length of time it took to implement the changes has made this an unworkable, out of date document. CARES would like to know if the PCT/NHS boards agree with this statement and if so why were the changes implemented in the first place when it was so obviously an untenable situation forced upon the residents and visitors of Southport and Formby.