How will the services affect you? What services will we lose in Trafford? Over the next few years, Trafford General's children's ward will no longer be open overnight. Trafford children will however continue to receive initial assessment, observation and treatment at Trafford General via the A& E Dept. This will be in a dedicated Paediatric Observation and Assessment Unit that will be developed as a result of the changes. We will also be exploring the possibility of doing more day surgery for children.

Within 3 to 5 years, Trafford will lose its consultant-led obstetrics (maternity) unit and special care baby unit. This is a knock-on effect of changes to the children's ward. Children's doctors are needed to support full consultant-led obstetric units and special care baby units, like the one at Trafford General. If the children's ward is not open overnight, then children's doctors will not always be available. The special care baby unit would therefore not be able to be provided and the maternity unit would need to change to offer a midwifery-led service if this is what local people want. The Trust will be exploring the possibility of developing a midwifery-led Birth Centre at Trafford General Hospital with Trafford Primary Care Trust.

Why are they taking services away from our local hospital? The consultation involved proposals to reduce the number of hospitals providing overnight care across Greater Manchester for obstetrics (consultant-led maternity care), children, young people and sick babies. Therefore not every hospital could retain their overnight services.

Due to the proximity of Trafford General Hospital to neighbouring larger hospitals, and other factors such as the health of local children and access to private cars, none of the options for change proposed Trafford as one of the sites for a 24-hour children's ward or consultant-led maternity unit.

What maternity and children's services will remain in Trafford? The majority of children's services will remain in Trafford and indeed some parts of the service will be strengthened by additional funding and expansion.

Trafford's children's community services will be enhanced to support family's care for more children outside of hospital. Unlike some other areas, Trafford is fortunate in already having a well established and very well respected Children's Community Nursing Team who provide an excellent comprehensive service to children across Trafford. Children with special needs, chronic long term conditions as well as those patients discharged from hospital but who are otherwise well are all supported by the Children's Community Nurses.

Trafford children will continue to come to Trafford General Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department as they do now. We also expect to set up a dedicated children's Observation and Assessment Unit. Trafford General's A& E senior doctors have undertaken additional training in children's medicine in preparation for the changes.

Children will attend Trafford General, Altrincham General and Stretford Memorial Hospitals and community clinics and health centres for children's outpatient appointments.

More children will have day case surgery at Trafford General Hospital.

Women will continue to receive their antenatal and postnatal care throughout Trafford.

We will be exploring the possibility of opening a Greater Manchester midwifery-led Birth Centre at Trafford General.

What about children who need in-patient treatment, where they be treated? Children needing to stay in hospital overnight will be admitted to nearby hospitals with 24-hour children's wards, for example Wythenshawe or Central Manchester Children's Hospital.

Where will I take my child if he breaks his leg? To your nearest A & E Department as usual - whether that be Trafford General or any other. Emergency care will still be available to children at all hospitals. The medical staff in Trafford General's A&E Department are fully trained to treat children. Trafford General will be creating a new children's Assessment and Observation Unit to cater specifically for children and staffed by emergency and paediatric clinicians.

Once the Trafford children's ward is not open at night, children who come in as emergency cases and need to be admitted as inpatients (a small minority) will be stabilised and transferred by ambulance to the nearest inpatient paediatric ward. Robust protocols will be in place with the North West Ambulance Service and neighbouring Trusts to ensure these transfers if necessary are safe and well managed.

Where will Trafford women go to give birth? We are confident that we can develop a midwife-led Birth Centre in Trafford. The Birth Centre will be suitable for healthy women with normal pregnancies If there is local support for such a unit and it goes ahead, then those women who are suitable and choose to use the Birth Centre would have their baby at Trafford General. For women with more complex pregnancies or who choose consultant-led care, then they would have their baby at a hospital with a full obstetric unit, such as St Mary's or Wythenshawe Hospitals.

It is important to remember that it is only the actual birth that would take place outside Trafford. We expect that antenatal and postnatal care will take place in Trafford.

Where will they go if there are complications with the birth? All women are regularly checked throughout pregnancy and labour. If any complications are noted there will be arrangements in place for immediate transfer to a neighbouring unit.

Where will premature and sick babies be treated? In-patient obstetric units in each of the options will each have a Special Care Baby Unit and a High Dependency Unit on site.

These in-patient obstetric sites will also have Neonatal Intensive Care cot for those babies who need only one or two days care at this level.

Babies who need longer term Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU care) would be transferred by a specialist ambulance transfer team to the nearest NICU centre of excellence.

Level three care (NICU) is needed by the very smallest and sickest babies.

Trafford maternity service already has two specialist midwives who support families when premature babies are transferred home. This service will continue and if necessary be expanded.

Do the changes mean Trafford residents will be getting a second class - and more risky - service? Not at all. The whole point behind the changes is to provide safer and higher quality services for women, children and babies. It won't be the same services further away. It is about concentrating staff and resources into bigger and better services in Centres of Excellence. Nowadays, only a very small number of children need to stay in hospital overnight, so it is only a small number of families who will be affected by the changes to the children's ward.

In relation to the Birth Centre, the research evidence to date suggests that in the UK, for a healthy woman with a normal pregnancy, delivery at home or in a midwife led unit is as safe as a hospital birth and can offer high quality care which is more responsive to the needs of women and their families.

We expect that the NHS in Trafford will become a flagship for safe nursing and clinical care in the community and at home for those children and young people who have long term disabling and medical conditions.

Children who have high intensive care needs and require hospital care already attend neighbouring Trusts for this specialised level of service. Therefore very little change will take place for these children.

When will the changes be introduced? We will want to plan the change, therefore, patients and the public may not see any change for at least 12 months, but we are anticipating that the change will take place over a 3 to 5 year period. We need to make sure that all community services and any buildings are modified to meet patients' needs and the appropriate trained staff teams are in place.

Is this a cost-cutting exercise? These changes are not about cost cutting - millions of pounds of investment will have to be made. It is expected that once all the new services are in place, they will cost more than the current services.

£25million has been committed to making the changes happen across the Making It Better review area. We want to make sure that Trafford gets its fair share of this money.