Women’s Hospital Many of you will have heard the news last week regarding the management board of Liverpool Women’s Hospital (LWH) have made a statement to the press that they are considering 4 options for LWH’s future. The options they have tabled are explained in the Liverpool Echo article here The Merseyside People’s Assembly (MPA) has reservations about all these options.
As a women’s hospital which has been increasingly privatised over the years, we are sure the private businesses which have a stake in it will also be lobbying the councillors. Therefore it is vital, that rather than let the companies who choose to suck profit out of our NHS make the decision for us, that we all intervene to make sure the right option is made for the local women and children who will be most effected by the outcome of this decision. The MPA ideally would like to see a 5th option, for a mass lobby of the NHS, MP’s & government to bring LWH back into public ownership and with proper investment to make sure any new site is safe for workers and safe for patients and babies. Additionally to make sure all money is being spent on patient care and not private contracts. There is a lot of detail omitted regarding where the money will come from for any of the 4 options. All could be a push to further privatise the service and see vital care sacrificed for further corporate profit in a slow dismantling of our NHS. Questions we need answers to:
1) Who are LWH & the CCG going to approach for money?
2) Will LWH’s management committee & CCG officially announce any conflicts of interest with any private companies announced as being approached for funding?
3) How many women and babies will be effected by any move in the future in terms of quality of care, funding of care and being moved to other sites?
4) Can LWH & the CCG give us cast iron guarantees that further privatisation will not follow any of these options?
5) Will pay or terms and conditions of employment be changed for staff as a result of any option being taken?
We need solid answers to these questions and more to inform whether we actually want to take any of these four options, and make sure this isn’t another case of all options being a bad choice for the people of Merseyside. We need to express this frustration to councillors and to make sure that whatever option is taken, that women and children do not suffer in the short, medium or long term. We therefore need to win our councillors over with reason before the vote takes place. Lobby your councillor tomorrow between 4:30pm – 5pm. If you are not sure what your councillor looks like then you can search them on social media (such as Twitter of Facebook) as they will usually have an account. Failing that a websearch of their name, which will usually bring up their council page with a pen picture of them. A member of our steering committee will be there on the day. If you want to attend then let me know your contact details and I will pass them on, so we can coordinate our approach together.
