Brief description of the project

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust is planning to build two new hospitals at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI). This change provides us with an opportunity to improve the way we deliver maternity and neonatal services in Leeds. We are planning to;

• centralise maternity and neonatal services in LGI so that all services are in one place and we can keep families together when they need to use neonatal services
• build a brand new midwifery-led unit at LGI
• consult on the way we provide hospital antenatal services
• keep community antenatal services the same

The consultation closed on 5 April 2020. We commissioned an independent research organisation to write and publish a report outlining what people told us. You can read the report below. We will make recommendations based on people’s feedback and share this with people who are managing the changes to maternity and neonatal services. We will clearly outline how we have used your feedback to shape the maternity and neonatal services in Leeds.

Who did we speak to?

We spoke to 1,550 people across Leeds, including: Women, young people, clinicians, the third sector and the wider public.

What and how did we ask?

We have spent a lot of time talking to women and their families in Leeds over the last few years and we have a good understanding of what they think about maternity services in our city. The consultation asked people about our plans to centralise maternity and neonatal services at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) and options for hospital-based antenatal appointments.

We used surveys, focus groups, street outreach, and drop-ins to find out what people think about our plans and proposals.

What did people tell us?

Overall, there is a majority in favour of centralising antenatal hospital appointments at the LGI. People who have recently given birth or attended antenatal services at the LGI, and healthcare professionals were more likely to support this option.

However, people need reassuring that:

• sufficient parking will be available
• there will be buses that stop close to the LGI
• the access needs of disadvantaged groups have been considered
• the staff in the new unit will understand the needs of ethnic minority women
• most antenatal appointments will remain in the community
• antenatal clinics will not feel overcrowded and can continue to deliver personalised care.

You can read the full consultation report below:

What will we do?

At the CCG Governing Body meeting on 22 July 2020, the Governing Body gave their support for maternity and neonatal services to be centralised at the new children’s and maternity hospital at the Leeds General Infirmary site, to be built by 2025. This is in line with the outcome of the consultation. Support was also given to develop a community hub near the St James’s site.

Downloads:

Consultation documents:

Audio Description Version of EASY READ Consultation Document, 22 minutes long (21MB)

Resources:

Conusltation planning documents:

Maternity and Neonatal consultation videos: