Parish Council Attend One-to-One NHS Forum

Simonswood Parish Council Attends Shaping Care Together One-to-One Forum

On Friday 19 September 2025 at 10:00am, Simonswood Parish Council attended a focused, one-to-one, Shaping Care Together Collaboration Forum at Ormskirk Hospital.

The event brought together 11 NHS representatives, including the Director of the Shaping Care Together programme and the Deputy Director of the Trust’s Estates team. The Council was allocated a 15-minute meeting, during which Cllr Shaw used the first 10 minutes to present the Parish Council’s position, share key research findings from the proposal documents, and raise questions on behalf of residents.

Key Questions Raised

The Council focused its questions on issues of access, clinical safety, and long-term planning, including:

1. Resident-Facing Transport Modelling – Request for modelling on route frequency, first/last bus times, and affordability.

2. NWAS Modelling & Mitigation – Request to publish ambulance service modelling, operational sign-off, and mitigation plans before any decision is made.

3. Air Ambulance Provision – Request for investment and operational forecasts to deliver fit-for-purpose airborne services at both sites.

4. Maternity & Neonatal Co-location – Request for confirmation that these services will remain co-located with children’s A&E.

5. Risk Assessment if Not Co-located – Request for risk assessments, transfer protocols, staffing plans, and cost details for any future reconfiguration.

6. Demand Modelling (West Lancashire) – Request to show how modelling accounts for population growth, household size, and car-ownership patterns over the next 5–10 years, especially in rural south Lancashire.

7. Demand Modelling (Whole Footprint) – Request for equivalent modelling across the whole area covered by NHS West Lancashire, Southport, and Formby.

8. Southport Site Masterplan – Request to publish a plan showing safeguarded clinical expansion zones, decant strategy, and future theatre/critical care footprints.

9. Long-Term Mitigation Plans – Request for long-term plans for both sites addressing population growth, critical care capacity, bed space, and parking.

10. Transparent Cost Breakdown – Request for a full cost comparison, including backlog clearance, enabling works, inflation, lifecycle/energy, and business-continuity costs.

Discussion Highlights

The meeting over-ran slightly as constructive conversations continued. One key point of discussion was the inaccurate population figures presented in the consultation documents, which the Council believes grossly misrepresent West Lancashire by a reduction of nearly 53,000 residents!

Programme Director Ms Nasadia asked where the Council’s findings were sourced; we directed her to the 43-page public proposal on the Shaping Care Together website. She explained that many of our queries are answered in the full 180-page proposal. Cllr Shaw asked where this longer document could be accessed, and when informed it was online, confirmed that it was not publicly visible. Ms Nasadia then offered to email the link directly.

At the close of the meeting, the Communications and Engagement Director, Mr M. Chanceller, and Ms Haybank, Head of the Free for All programme, approached the Council to apologise, confirming that the document library had been accidentally hidden from public view. The Council requested it be made live immediately so residents could access the full proposal before any final decisions are made on the reconfiguration.

Next Steps

Overall, the meeting was positive, and the Council felt that its concerns were heard. Several issues were explored in greater depth, and the NHS team committed to providing a written response with supporting evidence by 26 September 2025, allowing the Parish Council to submit its official feedback ahead of the 3 October 2025 consultation deadline.

A full debrief will be shared at the October Parish Council meeting. In the meantime, any residents wishing to discuss the matter further can contact the Clerk at clerk@simonswood-pc.gov.uk.

Since becoming aware of the proposal on 4th September, The Parish Council has spent the past two weeks, researching, meeting and evaluating the proposal to present the strongest possible case on behalf of Simonswood residents. While no final conclusion has been reached, the Council will continue to monitor developments closely and advocate for a fair, evidence-based outcome.