John Pugh and Rosie Cooper (MP for West Lancs) have contacted local NHS bosses urging them to abandon their plan to put out to tender community nursing services in Southport and Ormskirk.
Currently these services are run by the hospital as an Integrated Care Organisation but the money for it comes from Southport and Formby NHS and West Lancs NHS (commissioning groups) who represent local doctor.
John Pugh said: “I understand there have been problems in the past with the service but with new management at the hospital there is no reason to believe they can’t be ironed out. Currently though Southport and Formby NHS are inviting the world and his wife to bid to run these services.
“This not only risks a big chunk of the local NHS being privatised but it will lead to a more fragmented services as patients going in and out of hospital will be passed around between organisations. We were supposed to have an integrated care organisation. The clue is in the name.
“If a private provider takes the service off the hospital this will add to the hospital’s financial woes and possibly cause the collapse of other services- making accessing hospital treatment worse for patients.
“I am not sure Southport and Formby NHS recognise properly the implications of what they are doing. This is a massively complex contract and going through the bidding process is very costly, very risky and sucks huge sums out of the NHS budget that should be used in getting waiting lists down. They speak for local GPs but I question how far local GPs realise the downside of current actions.”