Findings of public engagement about improving hospital gynaecology and maternity services in Liverpool published
Friday, 21 March 2025
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside has published a report into the findings of a six-week public engagement period on improving hospital gynaecology and maternity services in Liverpool.
The report sets out feedback from the engagement period, which ran from 15 October until 26 November 2024, inviting people to comment on a newly published Case for Change document and share their own experiences of using these services.
More than 900 people completed an engagement questionnaire, with a majority (62%) responding that the NHS had fully described why hospital gynaecology and maternity services need to change, and a further 26% agreeing that the NHS had partly described why services needed to change. At the same time, there was broad support about the need to make changes to these services, with 82% of respondents in agreement about this.
People were also asked to identify what was most important to them when considering the future of hospital gynaecology and maternity services in Liverpool, with responses highlighting five main themes:
- Patient experience
- Accessibility and equity of care
- Waiting times and appointment delays
- Patient safety
- Staff compassion and competence
In addition, people who had lived experience of using hospital gynaecology or maternity services in Liverpool (either as a patient, partner, or close relative or friend) were invited to rate their experiences of using the services, with more than half describing this as positive, and a quarter describing it as negative.
Dr Fiona Lemmens, Deputy Medical Director for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside said:
“We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the opportunity to learn about the Case for Change and share their views and experiences with us, whether by completing a questionnaire, or attending one of the six engagement events we held.
“The local NHS and our partners are fully committed to finding a long-term solution that will improve the quality and safety of hospital gynaecology and maternity services in Liverpool, and we want to make sure that we involve people at every stage of this work.
“It’s really important to stress that no proposals for the future have been developed just yet, but all of the feedback that we’ve gathered will help to inform the next stage of this important work to improve care in our city for women and families.”
Over the coming months, the Women’s Hospital Services in Liverpool programme will begin an options process, to start looking at potential solutions for how services could look in the future. It’s expected that this work will take place over spring and summer, with a further update about next steps for the programme due in autumn 2025.
This process will involve a wide range of people, including staff who work in gynaecology and maternity care, and people with lived experience these services.
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside has already developed a Lived Experience Panel of people who currently use these services, or have done so in the past, and are keen to expand this further.
Anyone with lived experience of these services – whether as a patient, partner, family member, or carer - who would like to express an interest in getting involved, or find out more about what it involves, can email: engagement@cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk
Members of the public who want to keep updated on how in the programme is progressing, can also visit www.gynaeandmaternityliverpool.nhs.uk or join a Virtual Reference Group to receive email updates.
The engagement report was produced by Hood & Woolf, an independent organisation which specialises in healthcare communications and engagement. It is available on the programme website at: www.gynaeandmaternityliverpool.nhs.uk – which also hosts a range of supporting information, including the engagement materials, and a series of case study videos with people who work in women’s services in Liverpool.