Why do services need to change?

Because gynaecology and maternity services are located on a separate hospital site to other adult services in Liverpool, it can be difficult to manage acutely ill or rapidly deteriorating patients, those with complex surgical needs or significant medical conditions that need managing alongside this care.

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.

How does this affect care?

• It can cause significant delays to women getting the right treatment – particularly the most seriously unwell patients.
• Patients often have to be transferred by ambulance to another hospital for urgent care - other hospitals may not seem far away, but in an emergency, any distance is a problem.
• It also means that gynaecology and maternity services are not offered on other hospital sites in Liverpool to support women when they present at A&E at the Royal Liverpool or Aintree Hospital.
• The situation is creating a significant inequality in access to health services for women in our city – both when compared to men’s care in Liverpool, and to women’s care in other cities.
• There is also growing evidence of psychological harm to women, their families and to staff members. 

Learn more

You can learn more about the long term clinical risks affecting these services below.

• Read our Summary Booklet of the Case for Change

• Watch Staff & Patient Stories

• The Story so far

To access older information and documents on this programme of work, please access our Archives section.

A note on language

It’s not only people who identify as women (or girls) who use gynaecology and maternity services. While we use the term ‘woman’ and ‘women’, trans men and non-binary individuals assigned female at birth also access these services.