Shropshire Star

Bosses being 'grotesquely dishonest' over maternity care

An NHS campaigner today claimed health bosses are being "grotesquely dishonest" over plans to close rural maternity units.

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Gill George, chair of Shropshire Defend Our NHS

Gill George, who chairs Shropshire Defend Our NHS, claimed the public are being misled about the future of services in the county.

She said: “They are pretending that they have listened to women.

“That’s simply untrue, because women have literally queued up to tell health bosses that women in rural areas need a safe birth just as much as women in Shrewsbury.

“Since when did a mother’s life become less important, a baby’s life less important, because they live in Shropshire but have the ‘wrong’ post code?”

At meetings held two weeks ago to discuss the cuts and closures plan, members of the public were told it would be an improvement to lose 24/7 midwife-led maternity units, and have them replaced by community hubs where women will be unable to give birth.

Under the plans women would have the option of giving birth at a midwife-led maternity unit in Shrewsbury, Princess Royal Hospital in Telford or at home.

A number of maternity hubs could be created to support women before and after birth.

The system in Shropshire has come under scrutiny in recent months after Shropshire and Telford Hospital’s NHS Trust took the decision to temporarily close the Midwife Led Units (MLUs) in Oswestry, Ludlow and Bridgnorth due to staffing issues.

The community hubs will be staffed 12 hours a day and there is intended to be a telephone help line which will be available for when the hubs are closed.

Ms George condemned the plans, saying: “They’re giving women the baubles on the Christmas tree – but taking away the tree and cancelling Christmas.

“It is fine that they’re saying they will have improved antenatal care – that’s exactly what local mums have been arguing for, and the hospital trust has been refusing to fund.

“To pretend it’s a better service when it means taking away the 24/7 local midwife support that used to be there; scrapping inpatient postnatal care; and, disgracefully, ending births in Bridgnorth, Oswestry and Ludlow – is grotesquely dishonest.”

Mary Newburn, executive manager of the Midwifery Unit Network, said: “There is a real lack of clinical leadership for maternity services, and either an ignorance of the evidence or lack of commitment to providing evidence-based services.”

She has called on Simon Freeman of Shropshire CCG to reconsider the decision to close the three rural midwifery units and suggests that the CCG’s closure proposal is working against the expressed needs of women and families in Shropshire.

Rebecca Schiller, chief executive officer of Birthrights added: “These closures raise safety issues, local community hubs that do not offer birth and immediate postpartum facilities cannot be held up as a viable substitute.”