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Making it more complicated - responses are analysed

20/ 9/2006

FIVE new options have been identified as part of the Making It Better review which threatens women and children's services at Macclesfield Hospital.

These further possibilities for where inpatient children's, maternity and neonatal sites across Greater Manchester, East Cheshire and High Peak could be located have been generated from analysis of responses to the public consultation - and mean good news for hospitals in Bury and Rochdale.

But a spokeswoman for the Children's Network running the review, stressed these additional options were derived from viable workable ideas put forward by patients, staff and the public and not as a result of numbers of responses.

The consultation, which finished in May 2006, received an unprecedented response - more than 55,000 written replies. The network asked people to suggest alternatives to the four A to D options agreed in December 2005.

Following that, the review team created these new variations (below).

Peter Rowe, chairman of the Network Supervisory Board, said: "We're really pleased because we specifically asked respondents to suggest ideas for the way services could be delivered. They effectively helped us to identify five alternative plans for the way we could deliver some of these services in future.

"More than three million people are affected by future changes and we want to make sure that we have considered every viable option in the decision making process."

The analysis of the responses and the outline of the additional options will be presented to a meeting of the new Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts in October.

No decision will be made on the locations of inpatient children's and inpatient maternity sites until a formal meeting in December.

List of all options

A (Preferred Option) - inpatient paediatric and obstetric sites at RAE Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe, North Manchester, Tameside, with three neonatal intensive care units at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton.

B - RAE Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe, North Manchester, with NICUs at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton.

C - RAE Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe, North Manchester, Hope (obstetrics only) with NICUs at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Hope.

D - RAE Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe, North Manchester, MACCLESFIELD, with NICUs at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton.

E - No change.

Fa - RAE Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe, Fairfield Hospital Bury, Tameside, with NICUs at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton.

Fb - RAE Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe, Rochdale Infirmary, Tameside, with NICUs at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton.

G - RAE Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe, Fairfield Hospital Bury, Hope (obstetrics only) with NICUs at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Hope.

Ha - RAE Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe, North Manchester, Fairfield Hospital Bury, with NICUs at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton.

Hb - RAE Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe, North Manchester, Rochdale Infirmary, with NICUs at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton.

I - RAE Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Rochdale Infirmary, Wythenshawe, North Manchester, MACCLESFIELD, with NICUs at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton.

J - Involves the substitution of Wythenshawe Hospital for Royal Oldham in all relevant options for the provision of NICU services.