Wythenshawe Hospital is an outstanding acute hospital providing some world – leading services. It is the region’s transplant centre, has the North West Lung Centre and world class cardiac services. It 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.’