Liverpool Women’s is set to receive £15m worth of funding for its premature baby unit - despite plans to merge the hospital still being considered.
Bosses at the hospital, in Toxteth , say the money will be used to improve their existing Neonatal unit while the long-term future of Liverpool Women’s services are still being considered.
The news comes as NHS chiefs continue to debate whether to re-develop the existing site, move it to Alder Hey, or build a £100m new site next to the new Royal Hospital.
Last year, health bosses backed plans to move to a new site - which they say would make women and babies safer as they would no longer have to be taken across the city to be treated for medical complications.
However the plans have been met with wide-spread outrage, with a campaign launched to keep it at its current home.
A report by the Northern England Clinical Senate, an independent panel of midwives and doctors, says that developing the existing hospital – as demanded by many campaigners – would not be a viable option, even though the existing hospital will be upgraded anyway over the next five years.
Today, the Trust announced they’d been successful in their bid for £15m of funding to help develop the existing Neonatal unit as they say it needs upgrading sooner rather than later.
Kathryn Thomson, Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted that our successful request for funding support will allow us to improve our existing Neonatal Unit. Despite this excellent news, we also understand that it comes at a time when people will be unsure about what the long term plans are for Liverpool Women’s services.
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“As most people will be aware, building a new Liverpool Women’s next to the new Royal Hospital has been our preferred plan for the future for some time now.
“However, even if a decision is made to build a new hospital in the future, that is likely to be a number of years away.
“Although our services are safe, there are clinical challenges that exist that need to be addressed and our services need investment now.
“That is why we have continued to invest in our current site on Crown Street with the improvement of our Outpatients department, and our refurbished Gynaecology Unit.
“Improving our existing Neonatal Unit is another example of how we are keeping our most vulnerable patients safe today.”
Dr Andrew Loughney, Medical Director, added: “We treat around 1,000 premature babies on our Neonatal Unit every year. As a specialist Trust, a high proportion of the babies we care for face the most severe medical challenges.
“These are our most vulnerable patients who need the best possible care available.
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“Our Neonatal Unit provides excellent care but as with all clinical services, the environment and facilities that provide that care need to change and evolve with time.
“There is currently insufficient floor space for neonatal cots and this increases the risk of life-threatening infection, which led to the need for a four-cot reduction in capacity last year. There is also a shortage of parental accommodation and the unit does not comply with some service specifications, despite previous investments. This funding is required to address these issues.”
The funding will be provided to the Trust in the form of a low interest loan from the Department of Health.
Work on the unit is expected to begin in 2018.
Discussions around the initial planning and procurement of services to undertake the improvements have started and it is likely that work on the unit will begin later in 2018.
Kathryn Thomson added: “Regardless of the future direction of the Trust’s services, we have always intended to invest in our existing Neonatal Unit to benefit patients today, who are always our main priority.
“Although we still have other challenges around adult women’s services that cannot be solved by remaining on the current Trust site, these improvements will help to keep our neonatal patients as safe as possible for the immediate future.”