Plans to overhaul Merseyside’s health services will require more than £750 million worth of funding.
Leaked NHS documents have revealed the true cost of the overhaul, which includes proposals for a number of hospital mergers in the local region.
Among them are plans to fuse the Royal Liverpool and Aintree hospitals into one organisation while Arrowe Park and the Countess of Chester hospitals will share sites.
A new site for Liverpool Women’s Hospital in the city centre is also mooted as are plans to downgrade a number of local Accident and Emergency departments.
It means that opening hours at hospitals in Whiston, Warrington and Southport could all be reduced as part of the NHS proposals.
The leaked sustainability and transformation plans (STPs), which will cost an estimated £1.6 billion, have been met with fierce opposition locally.
Liverpool’s Liberal Democrats tabled an emergency motion to discuss the issue at today’s meeting of the city council to discuss the plans.