THE shake-up of children's and maternity services in the region is urgently needed, according to doctors backing the review.

They say the current set up across 13 hospitals is outmoded and second rate'.

And doctors working on the review believe changes in intensive care - which will create three super centres' - will save the lives of between 20 and 30 babies a year.

The revamp will lead to a smaller number of larger hospitals providing inpatient care across Greater Manchester, East Cheshire and High Peak for pregnant women, young people and sick babies.

Clinicians who back the changes say staff are spread too thinly across the 13 existing maternity units, meaning there were 227 occasions last year when one of the units closed without warning. There are identical problems with special care baby units, which closed 310 times over a six month period.

A consultant neonatologist and lead clinician on the review, Dr Anthony Emmerson, said: "We don't want a second class service."

Children's changing health needs have also prompted the reorganisation, with fewer of them staying overnight at hospital.

Doctors need to be in busy, specialist centres to maintain and improve their skills.

The health review team also promises that services outside hospitals will improve as the changes will allow more of them to be provided in people's homes, in clinics, children's centres and schools. More children and young people's community nursing and therapy services will be available.

There will be no job losses as a result of the changes.

Around 242,000 people had their say on the proposed changes during a 4-month public consultation and more than 55,000 formal written responses were received. This is believed to be the largest ever response to a health consultation in the UK.

The review area has a population of 3.1 million.

ARE you concerned about the changes? Let us now by commenting on the decision or by email to sam.editorial@messengergrp.co.uk