The journey so far

The NHS has been talking to local people about bringing Liverpool’s hospital teams together for a number of years. Details about the various consultations and engagements that have taken place can be found below. These discussions have helped us to better understand the issues that matter to people.

Healthy Liverpool

In early 2016, NHS Liverpool CCG carried out a large-scale engagement to ask people what they thought about the main priority areas for the Healthy Liverpool programme, which was the city’s strategy to improve health and services at that time.

The agreed priorities included ways to improve care and the future sustainability of hospital services. This involved proposals to bring together hospital teams which were on different sites, to develop single services, with the aim of reducing duplication and improving standards. In a survey, participants were asked to rank their priorities around treatment from a list of five options, and the most important was ‘being offered the same, high standard of treatment regardless of where my treatment takes place’, very closely followed by ‘being seen by the right staff who are experts in the treatment/ management of my condition’. Short travel time for one off appointments, such as surgery was the least important, however, generally participants did want care as close to home as possible.

For more findings, read the engagement summary and report on the NHS Liverpool CCG website.

Orthopaedic and ENT services

In the summer of 2017, the local NHS also ran a consultation about proposed changes to orthopaedic and ENT (ear, nose and throat) services across Aintree, Broadgreen, and the Royal Liverpool University hospitals. Consultation feedback showed support for the changes, and the majority of people who responded believed the proposal would improve the quality of care patients receive. Some concerns were raised over public transport and this feedback helped the trust to understand what arrangements would need to be put in place to support access. Changes went ahead during autumn 2019.

Learn more about this consultation and the changes that were made here.

AUHFT and RLBUHT merger

In spring 2019, while they were still two separate organisations, Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (AUHFT) and the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust (RLBUHT) engaged staff, members, patients, the public and wider partners, about their proposed merger. Feedback from patients, carers and the public covered a number of themes which are also relevant to this public consultation, including staff and resources, and transport and access. There was broad and widespread agreement that patients using the two trusts’ services should have access to the same standard of care, and access to the same range of specialties.

For more details about the merger, read the executive summary on the Liverpool University Hospitals website.

One Liverpool Strategy

In 2019, Liverpool City Council, the local NHS and key partners published a five-year strategy detailing how the city’s health and care system will work together to improve the health and wellbeing of local people. The One Liverpool Strategy sets out the need for bringing adult hospital services together to reduce duplication, improve quality of care and patient experience.

Learn more about One Liverpool and read the strategy here.

Comprehensive Stroke Centre

The NHS in Knowsley, Liverpool, South Sefton, Southport & Formby, and West Lancashire held a related public consultation between 22 November 2021 and 14 February 2022. It has been agreed that a new comprehensive stroke centre will be created at Aintree University Hospital, bringing together the hyper-acute care provided at Aintree, the Royal Liverpool and Southport hospitals. You can read more about this consultation and read the final report on the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside website.