THE company chosen to deliver a centralised stoma care service across Wirral has been named.

Bullen Healthcare will provide the Stoma Care Services across six Clinical Commissioning Groups in Cheshire and Merseyside.

The new centralised service will improve quality of life for 1,000 people living across the region with a stoma and ensures they receive advice, products and ongoing support from specialist stoma nurses.

Shoshana Bloom, Cheshire and Merseyside Stoma Programme manager, said: "This project has been a great example of cooperation and collaboration between commissioners; working together to ensure the best possible care is delivered for patients across the Cheshire and Merseyside region."

A stoma is an opening on the front of your stomach made by a surgical procedure to allow the contents of the body to drain into a bag.

Patients use bags and associated products on an ongoing basis; the type of product varies according to the location of the surgery and patient needs.

Bullen Healthcare's managing director, Paul Bullen, said: "This is great news for stoma patients across the local area and we are looking forward to working closely with our NHS partners to deliver a first-class service to patients.

"We have recently strengthened our stoma nursing team and this new service will create additional new jobs in Merseyside."