Maternity move set for 2012

The controversial move of maternity, new born baby and children’s services away from Rochdale Infirmary will not take place until the winter of 2011/2012.

As part of the plans children’s outpatients and daytime and maternity outpatient and community care will stay within Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.

The children’s community team will be expanded so that more children can be cared for at home or closer to home.

More than £1 million will be invested in an extra 64 children’s community nurses across Greater Manchester. The children’s community teams are caring for children at home when possible so fewer children need to be admitted to hospital, and they can get home quicker if they do need a stay in hospital. A team of 18 in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale now provide a service seven days a week and new clinics have started.

But many Rochdale residents and politicians have opposed the transfer of Rochdale Infirmary’s overnight children’s, maternity and neonatal services to the Royal Oldham Hospital.

NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale is exploring the possibility of a standalone midwife-led birth centre in the borough and a decision will be made about this soon.

Leila Williams, Director of the Greater Manchester Children, Young People and Families’ NHS Network, which is managing the Making it Better programme, explained the changes being implemented: “The Making it Better changes were designed by doctors, nurses and midwives as the best way to modernise services for children, young people and families throughout Greater Manager by providing safer services.

“All hospitals will continue to provide outpatient and daytime children’s and maternity services. However, overnight services for children and maternity will be provided in fewer, but larger hospitals to concentrate specialist staff and expertise and improve staffing levels. We will also be moving from two to three regional neonatal intensive care units to improve access to this specialist service for all families in Greater Manchester.”

A ‘roadmap’ leaflet which graphically illustrates the changes across Greater Manchester has just been produced and is being widely circulated to help people understand what has happened so far, and what will happen between now and 2012.

Ms Williams added: “We now have an agreed implementation plan which maps out the journey and the actions needed to provide these improved services. The doctors, nurses, midwives and other staff who work with us planning the changes are passionate about improving services, and we are leading the way for the rest of the country.”