TRAFFORD politicians have hit out at the effective ‘downgrading’ of Wythenshawe Hospital after it missed out on ‘super’ status under a massive shakeup of healthcare.

Under the first steps towards a devolved NHS in Greater Manchester, Stockport’s Stepping Hill was chosen as the fourth ‘super hospital’ site.

It means that Trafford residents requiring emergency medicine and specialist abdominal surgery procedures will be taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary.

The unanimous vote for Stockport, by bosses from Greater Manchester's Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) at Manchester Town Hall on July 15, was met with anger in Trafford, where Wythenshawe has already taken the slack of Trafford General losing its A&E, intensive care and paediatric observation units.

Altrincham and Sale West MP, Graham Brady, said: “Wythenshawe Hospital leads in research on medicines and is our major trauma centre, located adjacent to Manchester Airport where any reasonable person would want it.

“Senior clinicians at Wythenshawe have told me that the downgrading of the hospital poses a threat to patient safety and that removing general surgery will slowly kill the most important acute services.

“Wythenshawe is a centre of excellence and should be improved further not downgraded. Any decision to the contrary demonstrates that the consultation has been poor and the decision-making process is flawed. I will be calling for this to be reviewed as a matter of urgency.”

Under the Healthier Together proposals, ‘single services’ will be formed - networks of linked hospitals working in partnership.

Trafford General and Wythenshawe will be linked with Manchester Royal Infirmary

This means care will be provided by a team of medical staff who will work together across the three sites.

Ten extra consultants will be recruited to work across the Trafford/Wythenshawe/MRI single service; 35 across Greater Manchester in total.

There will be a minimum of 12 hours of consultant cover in A&E seven days a week, and a consultant surgeon and anaesthetist present for all high risk general surgical operations.

All hospitals will keep their existing specialisms. At Trafford General these are planned orthopaedic surgery and complex rehabilitation.

At Wythenshawe they are heart, lung and vascular services, burns care and plastic surgery, and breast cancer screening.

The decision on the fourth ‘super hospital’ was taken following a 15 week consultation, with 22,451 respondents.

Proximity and travel time were key components in reaching the decision, said Dr Ranjit Gill, chief clinical officer for Stockport CCG.

“We want to ensure that those people from North Derbyshire and Eastern Cheshire, who need emergency care in a Greater Manchester hospital, are able to receive care to not only the minimum standard but the best practice standards of Healthier Together,” he said.