A mum has warned night-time closures of Ormskirk Hospital children's A&E could cost lives after she rushed her child there only to find the doors closed.
Hayley Thomas and her husband Gary said "it's not right" the unit closes at night after they rushed to the hospital with their six-year-old son who was struggling to breathe. Mrs Thomas, 41, said they woke at around 11.45pm on April 27 to the sound of their son Buddy thrashing around and struggling to breathe.
After calming him down and trying to deal with the situation themselves Mrs Thomas decided to drive him to Ormskirk Children's A&E. But when the concerned parent got there around 1am she was concerned to discover it was closed.
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She was met by a security guard who advised her to go to Alder Hey Children's Hospital - over 30 minutes drive away. Mrs Thomas, of Skelmersdale, said: "When we got to Ormskirk, it just said closed. I just thought, that’s not right, that can’t be right – that must mean adults, coming here, not children.
"But then as I got out of the car, I thought this is quiet, and the doors were shut. Then a security guard said, sorry we are shut – you’ve got to go to Alder Hey; I was just stunned.”
She chose not to travel further, since little Buddy had fallen asleep at that point, so she returned home, but Mrs Thomas said he continued to struggle through the night. She added: “His breathing was so heavy – I didn’t leave his side all night.”
Mrs Thomas said the night-time closures could cost someone their life and has launched a petition to get it reopened. She told LancsLive : “It’s too far away to get to Alder Hey; you can’t ring an ambulance these days and you need to take the kids yourselves.
"I just can’t believe it’s not open – it's not right. I don’t even know how to get to Alder Hey or Wigan hospital. Years ago, when my little girl, Honey, who is now 11, was little there was a walk-in centre next to A&E. But now you’ve got no choice – now they’ve left us with nothing.
“I think they’re using covid as an excuse to close services, and I don’t know why, but it always seems busy to me, so I don’t know why it’s shut. The whole country’s open, why isn’t A&E? You can’t shut A&E because of covid, if that’s what they’ve done, because that’s ridiculous.
“They shut adults' A&E, which was awful, but I think when it’s for kids, everyone just needs to get behind this petition. I have used A&E so many times when the kids were babies, and you panic; you need something there, ten minutes away, not somewhere where you have to get the Sat Nav out and start flapping around.
“And what about single parents and people who haven’t got a car? It puts people off even going, and that’s putting children’s lives at risk. It could cost somebody’s life if they have to go far away.”
Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust website states that its dedicated children’s accident and emergency department is open between 8am and midnight, seven days a week and is located in Ormskirk hospital, where children under the age of 16 are seen.
A spokesperson for Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust said: "The children’s accident and emergency department at Ormskirk hospital began temporarily closing overnight in April 2020. The decision was made because the Trust could not maintain safe and consistent medical cover. It was taken on the advice and recommendation of a team of senior Trust doctors.
"We keep the temporary overnight closure under review. However, the staffing situation has not changed. In the meantime, children's A&E is open seven days a week, 8am to midnight. Parents needing urgent medical advice after midnight should call NHS 111. In an emergency, always call 999. Ambulance patients will be taken directly to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool."
