Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) capacity and (b) adequacy of neonatal units in Wirral.

No such assessments have been made. The provision of National Health Service neonatal units is a matter for local commissioners.

We are advised by NHS England that the North West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network (NWNODN) has reviewed demand and capacity at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The review showed little change in births within Cheshire and Merseyside and no change in the number of births at the Trust, over the last three years. The local NHS is considering the findings of the review to ensure services are delivered in accordance with national standards of care.

More information on NMNODN is available at:

http://www.neonatalnetwork.co.uk/