Emergency meeting to discuss reconfiguration response
21 January 2013
The BMA is to hold an emergency meeting with members in North Wales to discuss plans to move neonatal services over the border.
Doctors will join colleagues from the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives to debate the changes being considered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
As part of a wider reorganisation of services, neonatal care will be transferred to the Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust from Glan Clwyd Hospital and Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
The plans also include the closure of two community hospitals and some minor injuries units. BMA Cymru Wales has had long-standing concerns about the reconfiguration.
Lack of detail
BMA Welsh council chair Phil Banfield said: ‘What concerns us is that it’s not just about neonatal [services] but also the critically ill mothers who need transfer. Neither the health board nor [Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust] appears to be willing to publish perinatal figures in anywhere near as much detail as is available with the All Wales Perinatal Survey.
‘North Wales has an excellent record based on the hard evidence of its outcomes of care. This can be maintained with modest investment.’
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board was set to discuss the reorganisation this week. Discussions were delayed because of the volume of responses to the board’s public consultation.
Board chief executive Mary Burrows said: ‘We were very pleased and encouraged that so many people took the time and trouble to give their views. The consultation feedback will be a significant element alongside other evidence that the board will consider on how best we can provide safe, effective services for the people of North Wales as a whole.’
The BMA and royal colleges meeting takes place on January 28.