Fightback promised moments after Children's A&E return confirmed
The news has been welcomed in Southport but Ormskirk's loss will not be accepted easily
Hello and welcome to The Southport Lead.
From banners warning about ‘murder’ to walkouts and cries of shame, it’s fair to say the meeting in which the return of Children’s A&E to Southport was confirmed went less smoothly than the decision makers would have liked.
The Southport Lead has been covered the process throughout and I was again there on Friday as the TV cameras and other reporters arrived for the final moment. The decision was always an expected one and within moments of its announcement, the fightback begun.
Just as Southport protested the loss of its department in 2003, those in West Lancashire are making clear they will not accept losing one in Ormskirk without a fight.
Southport briefing
🏗️ An Ainsdale man says he fears he will be made homeless when his home is demolished to make way for a new Aldi. The discount retailer will build its latest store when eyesore buildings off Sandbrook are demolished in a £7m development which promises to bring 40 new jobs. While most of the buildings there are empty and have been bought by Sefton Council, some remain occupied and the John Gretton fears has now been served with a Section 21 eviction notice. The 58-year-old told the LDRS he fears he will end up on the streets, adding: “They can’t make people homeless just to build a shop. I have been looking at flats and even with money, it’s impossible. If I do not find somewhere else, I am homeless unless the council do something but you know how quick they are. I did not think I would be in this position, not this quick. They could have given us a year and that would have been fine.” The council says it is giving priority housing status to those remaining there and has already helped affected tenants. Council leader Cllr Marion Atkinson added that contact has been made with tenants last week.
🏫 Churchtown Primary School has been honoured at the 2026 Youth Sport Trust Awards after opening a new playground in memory of two pupils who tragically died. Through a wide range of pupil-driven fundraising activities, Churchtown managed to raise £380,000, with the money going towards building a new playground to honour Alice da Silva Aguia and Bebe King and support unstructured, child-led play. The school was awarded the Inspiring Play Award. Deputy head Tom Dowd said: “The school community and the wider community have all come together and we’ve now got something at the school that the children are so proud to be part of. They had their part in raising the money that went towards it, so they will see it as their playground, and it has just transformed our playtimes.”
🏠 Plans to convert an Ainsdale house for use as a children’s home have been approved. As previously reported by The Southport Lead, care company faced opposition from neighbours over their plans for a property on Unit Road. However, Sefton’s planning committee this week granted approval for the plan meaning the home can be used by as a home for to four people aged 16 or over.
📢 The Coroner of Sefton, Knowsley and St Helens has issued an appeal for information to find the next of kin for a man from Southport. Steven Shaw, 65, of Avondale Road, died on Tuesday 10 March at his home address. There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. Anyone with any information is asked to call 0151 934 2399 or email Coronerreferrals@sefton.gov.uk
Anger and delight contrast as Children’s A&E move confirmed
By Jamie Lopez
Southport has been officially chosen as the location to host both adult and children’s A&E departments at a public meeting which saw public discontent and walkouts.
Southport Hospital was confirmed as the chosen facility to host both departments when the Shaping Care Together (SCT) programme concluded they should be based in one single location rather than split across Southport and Ormskirk in their current arrangement.
A public consultation on this plan was launched last year and it was clear from the outset that the SCT believed Southport was the better option, being much quicker to implement and significantly cheaper at £33m compared to £90m for Ormskirk.
Some 5,000 responses were received during the consultation and campaigning from politicians and the public in West Lancashire was ultimately unable to persuade a change of direction. On Friday, members of the SCT committee - made up of members of the integrated care boards of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria - met at Ormskirk Civic Hall to reach a final decision.
As expected, and to the anger and dismay of many of those who attended from West Lancashire, Southport was confirmed as the choice in a move which will see the return of 24-hour emergency care for children and the creation of a new department and 350 additional car parking spaces through a multi-storey facility.
While only around half of the 100 members of the public who’d requested to attend the meeting did show up, the meeting was disturbed on multiple occasions. A first walkout occurred within 30 minutes and vocal interruptions would soon follow. The meeting’s chair, Hilary Garratt of NHS Cheshire & Merseyside ICB, repeatedly warned that if the interruptions continued, the meeting would be adjourned and continued in private.
At one stage, a banner was lifted at the back of the room bearing a message which warned that “closing hospitals is murder”, though there are no plans to close any hospital as part of this change.
Moments later, Professor Garratt announced the meeting was being paused in a bid to control the interruptions. The committee members left the room for around 10 minutes before returning to complete the presentation stage of the meeting.
