Why do services need to change?
Women’s services in Liverpool are arranged differently to those elsewhere in the country. All other specialist centres for gynaecology and maternity care in England are located alongside acute and emergency hospital services.
Because Liverpool Women's is separate from other hospitals, there can be challenges providing care to people who:
- Have another significant health condition that needs managing alongside their gynaecology or maternity care.
- Have unexpected complications during their care which needs urgent support from a different specialist team.
- Become seriously unwell or rapidly deteriorate during their care and need support from an intensive care unit.
- Have very complex surgical needs, including many patients with gynaecological cancer.
How does this affect care?
Sometimes these patients have to be transferred by ambulance for urgent care and treatment at another hospital – often when they are at their most sick or vulnerable.
The way that services are arranged also means that maternity and gynaecology services are not available for women when they attend an emergency department, or are admitted as a patient, at another hospital in Liverpool.
This situation can lead to delays to care and poorer quality care, outcomes of treatment, and patient experience. There is also growing evidence of psychological harm to women, their families and to staff members.
You can learn more about the main clinical risks, and how they affect patients and staff by clicking on the following links: