An update on improving neonatal care services in the North West

The NHS has been looking at how to improve neonatal care for babies and their families across the North West. This work is being led by the North West Safe and Sustainable Specialised Health Services for Babies and Children programme, on behalf of the three NW ICBs including NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, NHS Greater Manchester, and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria.

Although neonatal staff are working hard and provide lots of great care, at the moment the majority of neonatal units in the region do not meet national minimum activity standards in terms of the number of babies they care for.

This matters because evidence shows that babies receive better health outcomes and are less likely to develop life-long disabilities when their neonatal care is provided by a very specialised team, who perform the same procedures more frequently.

There is also too much variation in the levels of specialist care being provided by different neonatal units in the region, and the number of cots provided does not match current or expected future levels of demand for care.

The NHS wants to improve the quality and consistency of neonatal services to ensure that they are sustainable for the future, and that all babies and families receive the same high quality of care, wherever they live or are treated in the North West.

What has happened so far? 

Although it’s likely that changes will need to be made as a result of this review work, it’s important to stress that this improvement work is still at an early stage of development, and there are no plans or proposals for any service changes just yet.

An updated Case for Change document was developed and published in December 2025, which describes the challenges facing the region’s neonatal services in more detail.

You can read the full version of the Case for Change, as well as a summary version and an Easy Read version, on the NHS England North West website.

Staff and parent/carer engagement

Following the publishing of the Case for Change, a staff engagement period was held between January and March 2026. 

A series of staff listening sessions were delivered, which focused on hearing from NHS staff with experience of working in or alongside neonatal care services in the North West, in order to understand their thoughts and views on the issues set out in the case for change.

In March and April 2026, the programme also held a series of focus groups and one-to-one discussions with parents and carers who have used neonatal services in the North West, in order to hear their reflections on the case for change, and learn more about their own experiences of care – including what currently works well, and what could be better for families.

The findings highlighted a broad level of support for the case for change and the principle of delivering more centralised care from fewer, more specialist units, especially if it meant that care was made better, safer and more consistent for babies. 

However, most parents felt that careful thought needed to be given to how changes could be made without disadvantaging families or requiring them to carry extra burdens such as further travel and accommodation costs, or more separation.

The findings of this insight work have been summarised into a report, which is available to read on the NHS England North West website.

Next steps

Feedback gathered from these staff, parent and carer discussions will be used to help inform the next phase of planning and development. 

This will include a number of workshop events which will be held over summer to help develop a long-list of potential options for how neonatal services could look in the future, and then refine this into a short-list.

We continue to be committed to involving staff, families and wider stakeholders at every stage as this work progresses – and we will keep you updated about further key developments.

If you have any further questions in the meantime, please contact the programme team via: england.nw-specialisedbabieschildren@nhs.net. 

Note: Amos Report

We also note the publication of the Baroness Amos report this week and welcome its findings. Whilst many of the recommendations fall outside the scope of this programme of work, we are committed to considering any relevant findings where appropriate. Responsibility for taking forward improvements to neonatal services will sit with Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) and provider Trusts, who are best placed to implement changes at a service level.