Southport & Formby Hospital could see all Accident and Emergency services concentrated on that site.
It would see the return of children’s A&E services to Southport after they were removed in 2003.
This Friday could see the start of a 13 week consultation about the proposals with local residents, businesses and health professionals urged to have their say.
The details of the review will be outlined at a meeting of the Shaping Care Together Joint Committee led by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria at Ormskirk Civic Hall 10.30am-midday this Friday (4th July 2025).
The Committee will make their decision then, with no decisions having yet been made.
There are two options which will be considered, from an initial list of 10:
Co-location of a 24-hour adult and paediatric A&E at Southport Formby Hospital
Co-location of a 24-hour adult and paediatric A&E at Ormskirk Hospital
The report says the preferred option is to co-locate services to Southport Hospital, which still has to be ratified by the Committee.
If the Committee decides to proceed, then 13 weeks of consultation will then begin with plenty of opportunities for people in Southport, Formby and West Lancashire to hear more, get involved and have their say.
The report says: “The preferred option aims to address operational inefficiencies, workforce pressures, and fragmented care delivery, ensuring sustainable and high-quality emergency care for the region.”
One previous option to create a brand new hospital to serve the two areas has been discounted due to the estimated £1.3 billion cost, and the 13 – 16.5 years it would take to build it.
The second option is the preferred option ahead of the 13 week public consultation.
Ormskirk Hospital ED Co-location would cost an estimated: £91,329,000 while Southport & Formby Hospital ED Co-location would cost an estimated £44,477,000.
Members of the public may observe this Friday’s meeting by emailing sct.getinvolved@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk by 9pm Wednesday 2 July 2025.
The Shaping Care Together – Draft Pre-Consultation Business Case (PCBC) and DRAFT Consultation Document says: “No decisions have been made yet and the documentation included in this paper are not decision-making documents on the final outcomes.
“The Shaping Care Together (SCT) programme is a collaborative initiative by Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (MWL) and the Integrated Care Boards (ICB) for Cheshire, Merseyside, and Lancashire and South Cumbria. It aims to address urgent and emergency care challenges in Southport, Formby, and West Lancashire, ensuring sustainability and excellence in patient care.
“The programme’s vision is to provide high-quality care and reduce health inequalities by delivering responsive, safe, and sustainable services. It focuses on improving urgent and emergency care and addresses current pressures such as quality, staffing shortages, infrastructure needs, and funding issues, while preparing for an ageing population.
“The review process began in Spring 2024 with the development of the Case for Change, which highlighted the need for improvements in urgent and emergency care. After thorough stakeholder engagement, a 10-week pre-consultation period gathered feedback through public events, meetings, focus groups, and surveys. This feedback informed the options appraisal process, which identified two main options for co-location of adult and paediatric accident and emergency (A&E) services and a preferred option.
“The current healthcare model faces pressures from aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, financial challenges, and rising patient demand. With increasing population aging and complexity in care needs, maintaining duplicate services across two sites is unsustainable. Expert reviews, including Clinical Senate evaluations, have highlighted the necessity for reconfiguration to provide efficient, high-quality care.
“The programme initially considered 10 options, with a number discounted during the pre-hurdle appraisal due to financial constraints, implementation timelines, and the need for significant changes to out-of-scope services.
“The two options that passed the hurdle criteria were:
• Co-location of a 24-hour adult and paediatric A&E at Ormskirk Hospital.
• Co-location of a 24-hour adult and paediatric A&E at Southport Formby Hospital.
“Each option was scored based on quality of care, deliverability, access, financial and environmental sustainability, and strategic fit.
“The co-location at Southport option achieved the highest score and was identified as the preferred option.
“ This recommendation was approved by the SCT Programme Board in December 2024, and the programme agreed to proceed to consultation on both options, with co-location at Southport Hospital being the preferred option.
“In 2015, Deloitte conducted a review of acute services at Southport & Formby and Ormskirk hospitals, concluding that the services were unsustainable in terms of quality, workforce, and finances. They recommended a hot and cold site solution, which was supported by the Northern England Clinical Senate Review in 2017. A 2018 review by KPMG highlighted ongoing risks and suggested a new-build hospital, but this was deemed unfeasible, leading to a renewed recommendation for a hot and cold site solution. However, the previous programme found the solutions unaffordable and undeliverable, with estimated costs around £1.3 billion and a timeline of 13-16.5 years.
“The proposed clinical model focuses on providing 24/7 emergency care for both adults and children, addressing the current lack of 24/7 provision at Ormskirk Hospital. Co-location of services was identified as a strategic solution to enhance integration, optimise resources, and improve patient outcomes following the hurdle criteria workshop.
“From the clinical point of view, the preferred option aims to address operational inefficiencies, workforce pressures, and fragmented care delivery, ensuring sustainable and high-quality emergency care for the region.
“A review of workforce models for both adult and paediatric ED services highlighted key factors impacting the final workforce structure. The review identified benefits of co-locating ED services, including improved 24/7 medical cover, consolidated nursing leadership, and reduced reliance on temporary staff, potentially saving £1.5 million annually.
“To co-locate the ED and co-dependent clinical services at Ormskirk Hospital, 8,757m² would need to be constructed or refurbished, significantly impacting existing services. The Southport & Formby Hospital option requires 3,501m².
“The costs of the estates reconfiguration for the two options were also completed by an independent financial commission. The capital costs and additional parking facilities for the two options are as follows:
• Ormskirk Hospital ED Co-location: £91,329,000
• Southport & Formby Hospital ED Co-location: £44,477,000
“Whilst the option for a new-build co-located ED was considered, this option was discounted during the pre-hurdle criteria appraisal due to the significantly greater resources required compared to reconfiguring the existing estate.”
This Friday, the Committee is asked to:
• Review and approve the draft Pre-consultation Business case
• Review and approve the draft Consultation Document
• Approve the commencement of the consultation with the public and stakeholders
Approval of the draft Pre-consultation Business Case and Consultation document from both ICBs and Trust will enable the start of a 13-week consultation with patients, public, staff and various key stakeholders for urgent and emergency care services in Southport, Formby and West Lancashire.
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