West Lancashire Borough Council statement on decision regarding A&E services in Ormskirk

West Lancashire Borough Council is extremely disappointed in the decision of the Joint Committee of the Integrated Care Boards to locate both adult and children's A&E services at Southport, rather than Ormskirk.  

While West Lancashire Borough Council is not the health authority responsible for the decision and does not hold the statutory scrutiny powers that sit with Lancashire County Council, WLBC engaged fully in the consultation as a key stakeholder and submitted detailed evidence to the Shaping Care Together Programme on behalf of our residents. 

The Council does not feel the outcome reflects the views of many residents or staff, the central geographical location of Ormskirk to West Lancashire and Sefton, or the information submitted to the committee, which clearly made the case for both services being located in Ormskirk.  

Councillor Vickie Cummins, Lead Member for Wellbeing, said: "This decision is deeply disappointing for West Lancashire. The evidence presented clearly demonstrated the advantages of locating services at Ormskirk, particularly for many of our communities who already face significant barriers in accessing urgent and emergency care. 

“We are grateful to residents and staff who took part in the consultation and we will now review the decision in detail, including the process by which it was reached. 

“The Council will consider all options available to us including whether to ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to review and reverse the decision."

"This won't be the end of the fight." 

For full information about the decision, visit https://yoursayshapingcaretogether.co.uk/