What you’ve been saying about the proposals...
PATIENTS and residents in Macclesfield are highly protective over the town’s hospital and its services.
People have reacted swiftly to have their say on the planned changes to the baby unit on our Facebook page:
EM Swift said: “Neonatal in Macc is needed. Prematurity is more common than you think, and to make babies/labouring mothers travel will be the difference between life and death. “The neonatal staff are fab they cater to every babies needs bloody well!”
MICHELE Slack said: “That really shouldn’t be happening. Macc hospital covers such a huge area why should they have to go further my daughter was in neonatal in Macclesfield after a stay in St Mary’s in Manchester. “At a very stressful time you want to be local so family can support. You don’t want the added stress by having to drive further a field.”
DILYS Griffiths said: “This will close the maternity unit. I worked for Trafford, as soon as paediatric services were down graded the maternity unit closed!! It will happen. We were reassured that it wouldn’t. It did.”
MAX Homer said: “My little boy was born here and we had a fantastic experience, the staff and facilities were exceptional, please continue investing more in both and not less.” AMY White said: “It’s an amazing department and shouldn’t be downgraded. When you have a baby in need of neonatal care like we did then you need to be close to home-not miles away.”
PAULA Derbyshire said: “It’s such a hard and emotive situation. East Cheshire NHS is a small and incredibly underfunded sector of the NHS. “Over the years, as driven by the powers that be, there are centres of excellence in healthcare. Neonatal care is not one that has been afforded to MDGH. MDGH will not close.”
EMMA Meir said: “Utterly ridiculous idea! How can they even think about downgrading it?! If this unit wasn’t here, my first child may not have made it, and myself and my second child wouldn’t have made it. Stop with all the centralising and making people travel further, you are playing with people’s lives!”
JOHN Hunt said: “Obviously Macclesfield’s population is expanding so it seems to me and probably every person in Macclesfield and nearby villages that the sensible thing to do would be to make Macclesfield Hospital better, bigger and more up to date so as to be able to cater for its expansion.”
BECKIE Nadine said: “I say absolutely no! The midwifes and staff are fantastic. “They really helped me with my first born. Let’s get a petition on the go.”