Alfred Jones Memorial Hospital closes

by Anna Billson-Page

An historic Liverpool hospital, the Alfred Jones

Memorial Hospital, closes its doors today. The old

hospital will be replced by a £13.8 million complex,

which is being referred to as a "mini-hospital", in

two years' time.

In the meantime, some services have been

temporarily transferred to Garston Urban Village

Hall. X=ray facilities will now be available at the

York Centre.

While it is a sad thing to see the end of a

hospital which has provided so much to the

community in recent years, the replacement of

the Alfred Jones Hospital is part of a forward-looking agenda from Liverpool PCT to improve community care. The improved facilities will offer the current services of out-of-hours GP cover, sexual health, physiotherapy and blood tests, as well as a "drop-in" centre staffed by nurses and medical staff.

The NHS Improvement Society obviously welcomes genuine progresive changes which signal improvements in health service provision. However, we have some concerns about the temporary arrangements which seem to be financially driven.

Local campaigners who have objected to the closure are now expressing their opposition to the historic building being demolished. According to the Liverpool Echo, some people critical of the development have "compared the blueprint to a McDonalds".