HEALTH chiefs have approved a major reorganisation of children's and maternity services in Greater Manchester that will mean the axe for frontline facilities in Trafford.

The shake-up will see the closure of Trafford General's maternity unit, special care baby unit and children's ward, over the next three to five years.

And an option to set up one of three intensive care units for new-born babies at Wythenshawe Hospital was rejected.

Wythenshawe, though, will be one of eight centres providing maternity and children's wards as part of a streamlined service.

Proposals put forward in the Making it Better' review were approved at a crunch meeting of representatives of the 13 primary care trusts that are affected, today.

The reorganisation will cut maternity and children's beds from 13 hospitals to eight, including Wythenshawe.

It will cost from £48m to £68m a year to build and upgrade the facilities by 2011, with an additional £10 million a year running costs.

The revamped service will cover Greater Manchester, East Cheshire and High Peak, which has a population of 3.1m. The eight maternity hospitals will also provide high dependency cots and special care cots.

There will be three intensive care units for new born babies at St Mary's Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton.

Leila Williams, director of the Children, Young People and Families Network, said: "The changes agreed today will bring massive improvements to the healthcare provided to women, children and babies. Creating Centres of Excellence for in-patient maternity, children's and neonatal care will save lives. The changes may mean that people will no longer access some services at their local hospital, but they will get safer and higher quality care at units staffed by doctors, nurses and midwives who have the right level of experience to treat all patients. support and facilities."

The reorganised maternity and children's services will comprise: Eight maternity and children's units at: Wythenshawe, Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's Stepping Hill, North Manchester and Tameside. They will also have high dependency cots and special care cots. The three neonatal intensive care units will be at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton. The changes will be implemented over the next three to five years.

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