More fears over maternity unit changes

The fears have been raised by Ludlow East councillor and nurse Tracey Huffer, even though health officials insist it is not a permanent move.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the centres, says that by making the centres on call, it will make sure there is enough staff to allow women to give birth at their chosen hospital – and it should prevent repeated temporary overnight closures that have dogged units in Bridgnorth, Ludlow and Oswestry for the past six months or more.

But Councillor Tracey Huffer, who is a nurse at the town's Station Drive GP surgery, said the move would further discourage expectant mothers from choosing to give birth at their local unit, meaning less demand on paper, making it more likely the service would be downgraded permanently in the future.

She said: "This effectively means a women in labour will have to telephone through to request a midwife to meet them and unlock the doors to the unit.

"Having spoken to several it's clear that they want certainty, they speak highly of they care received in Ludlow, but do not want the stress and risk attached of being booked into a unit that closes at the drop of a hat.

"I believe this is playing straight into SaTH's hands. They say that they do not want to staff buildings where there may be no activity, and now they will be able to say that our MLU's are no longer viable due to the falling numbers using them.

"SaTH say an on call system is a interim response to ongoing issues, but I fear what it actually means is we will loose our units.

"This will most certainly be another nail in the coffin for Ludlow Hospital, it is very bleak news for our rural health services."

However, Sarah Jamieson, head of midwifery at SaTH said the plan was suggested for safety and staffing reasons and was not pre-empting the conclusions of an ongoing review of the future of the units.

She said: “If we had an on-call system of midwifery to support births in our units, rather than staffing the units, women’s choice would be maintained at all times and their options for birthing in their local unit or at home would also always be maintained. It is our opinion, and one supported by many, that this option would be preferable to suspending services; however, this is currently our only option in order to ensure safety.

“It is important to stress that no final decision has been taken on this proposal, which would be an interim response to the on-going issues we are facing in terms of demand and staff availability.

"The long-term provision of midwifery services in Shropshire is under review, and nothing that is currently being discussed would predetermine the findings of that review," she said.