Final week to share your views on proposed changes to maternity, neonatal and surgical services.

There are just a few days left to share your views as part of a public consultation on proposed changes to how and where maternity, neonatal, and children’s surgical services could be provided in North Central London. The consultation closes on Sunday, 17 March 2024.

 

North Central London is seeing fewer births each year and increasingly complex care needs by people using maternity and neonatal services. We also face high numbers of vacancies in some clinical groups, which mean we are not always able to achieve the best practice standards that we would want to deliver for our residents. Frontline NHS staff work incredibly hard to provide the best possible services, however our services are not always set up in the right way.

Our proposals aim to improve access, experience and outcomes for pregnant women and people and their babies and would include a significant additional investment in maternity and neonatal services to ensure that all services meet modern standards.

 

The proposals being consulted on include a reduction in the number of maternity and neonatal services in NCL from five to four and the possible closure of the birthing suites at the Edgware Birth Centre. We believe these changes would create more resilient services, with midwife- and obstetrics-led units co-located with neonatal units all able to look after premature or unwell babies. Homebirths will continue to be offered in all our boroughs.

 

Our proposals will require significant investment, which we are committed to, to ensure all services meet modern standards and can deliver high quality care to all patients.

For children’s surgery, access is an issue, with some babies and young children being transferred several times before getting the care they need, and too many children waiting too long for surgical care. The proposals being consulted on include creating two ‘centres of expertise’ at Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCLH which would mean quicker and better quality of care for babies and small children who need operations.

North Central London Integrated Care Board and NHS England (London) Specialised Commissioning are consulting with an open mind. No decision has been made yet and it would be some years before any of the proposed changes are implemented. Until then all services are running as normal.

 

Hundreds of staff and local people have already shared their views and we are keen to hear from as many people as possible about their experiences and views.

 

You can view the proposals and complete a questionnaire online. You can also:

You have until 11.59pm on Sunday 17 March 2024 to share your views.