Child health and maternity minister Ivan Lewis was conspicuous by hisabsence at the launch of his department's plans to overhaul bothservices last week.
Lewis is facing a dilemma that clearly illustrates the difficulties theGovernment is up against as it defies public worries that its shake upof services is no more than deficit-related cutbacks. He has been caughtup in the row because of fears his constituents' health will be put atrisk as Greater Manchester's maternity units are cut from 13 to eight aspart of NHS reconfiguration plans.
In the two Making it Better reports, one on maternity services andanother on children's health services, the Government's children'shealth tsar Sheila Shribman insists that having fewer hospital-basedservices will benefit pregnant mothers and children with complex andlong-term conditions. "This is about changing and improving services,not closures or cuts. But sometimes it will mean difficult decisions,"she admits.
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