What they said vs what they did
None of the numbers on this page are ours. They come from the NHS's own consultation, the joint committee's own decision, and the public record. We haven't invented a single statistic — we don't need to. The facts are damning enough.
How we got here
The quiet downgrade
Ormskirk's children's A&E is cut back to 8am–midnight. Overnight, families are already being sent to Southport. The direction of travel is set — but nobody votes on it.
13 weeks of consultation
The 'Shaping Care Together' consultation runs for 13 weeks and gathers more than 7,840 responses. But the NHS had already named Southport as its 'preferred option' before a single member of the public was asked. Keeping both sites was ruled out before the consultation even began.
The public answers
When the responses are counted, keeping the children's A&E at Ormskirk is the MOST popular option in the consultation. West Lancashire is clear about what it wants.
They choose Southport anyway
A joint committee of the Lancashire & South Cumbria and Cheshire & Merseyside ICBs votes to move the children's A&E to Southport, 8 miles away. Cost: £33 million. Timeline: a minimum of three years, targeted for 2029. The most popular option loses.
Cross-party revolt
Lancashire County Council's health scrutiny committee votes UNANIMOUSLY — every party — to ask the Health Secretary to formally 'call in' the decision. West Lancashire's MP, Ashley Dalton, also asks for it to be reversed. The Health Secretary has the legal power to review it.
And then — silence
Wes Streeting resigns as Health Secretary. The call-in request is still sitting unanswered. Government is consumed by the Labour leadership crisis. Our children's A&E waits in a Whitehall in-tray while the politics plays out.
Still no answer
The call-in request has never been answered. That's why this campaign exists — to make sure the next Health Secretary can't pretend they didn't hear us.
Said vs did
"We want to hear from local people."
Named Southport as the 'preferred option' before the consultation started.
"This is a genuine consultation."
Ruled out keeping both sites, and an all-age service on both sites, before anyone could respond.
"The public's views are central."
Ormskirk was the most popular option — and lost anyway.
"Southport is the safe choice."
Ormskirk is 10–20 minutes closer to the specialist centres at Alder Hey, Whiston and Aintree, where the sickest children actually go.
8 miles further from the front door
In a trauma, a stroke or an obstetric emergency, minutes decide outcomes. Ormskirk sits 10–20 minutes closer to the specialist centres than Southport. Moving the front door further away doesn't make children safer.
The Ormskirk and Southport split-site arrangement is the only one of its kind between two district general hospitals anywhere in the country. This isn't us tidying up an anomaly — it's a unique local set-up that has served West Lancashire families for decades.
Questions, answered straight
Is Ormskirk Hospital closing?
No. Let's be precise, because precision matters: the hospital is not closing. The decision moves the children's A&E — the emergency department for children — from Ormskirk to Southport, 8 miles away. Other services remain. But for a parent with a sick or injured child at 2am, the children's A&E is the service that counts.
What exactly was decided?
On 13 March 2026 a joint committee of two NHS ICBs approved moving Ormskirk's children's A&E to Southport Hospital at a cost of £33 million, over a minimum of three years, targeted for 2029.
Didn't the public get a say?
A 13-week consultation ran from July to October 2025 and gathered over 7,840 responses. Keeping the children's A&E at Ormskirk was the most popular option. The committee chose Southport anyway. The NHS had also named Southport as its 'preferred option' before the consultation began, which is why many residents felt it was a done deal.
Can the decision still be reversed?
Yes. In late March 2026 Lancashire County Council's health scrutiny committee unanimously — across every party — asked the Health Secretary to formally 'call in' the decision. The Health Secretary has the legal power to review and reverse it. That request has never been answered. That is exactly what this campaign is asking for.
What is the campaign actually asking for?
One concrete thing: the Health Secretary must formally call in the decision before any work begins. As a second step, we're asking Andy Burnham — MP for neighbouring Makerfield and the incoming Prime Minister — to instruct his Health Secretary to do exactly that in his first week.
Are you against the NHS or its staff?
Absolutely not. We love the doctors, nurses and paramedics at Ormskirk — they are extraordinary. Our fight is not with them. It's with the decision-makers who asked West Lancashire what it wanted, heard the answer, and ignored it.