Anger over Shropshire's rural maternity units decision
The decision to suspend births at Shropshire's three rural maternity units for the foreseeable future has been met with anger from health campaigners.
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) announced that inpatient services will be suspended at the rural midwife-led units (MLUs) in Oswestry, Bridgnorth and Ludlow as the trust consults with people using the service.
Sarah Jamieson, head of midwifery at SaTH, which runs the MLUs, said more than 98 per cent of women are giving birth away from the rural MLUs and the decision had been taken due to safety reasons.
Health campaigners have accused SaTH of showing contempt for women living in rural areas.
It comes as a public consultation on the long-term future of Shropshire’s maternity services could still be four months away.
Bobbie Brown, coordinator of the Save Bridgnorth Maternity Unit campaign, said: “Sarah Jamieson keeps going on about choice.
"She says that women are ‘choosing’ not to give birth at our rural MLUs. I know this is really, really hard for senior health bosses to understand – but it’s impossible for women to give birth in a maternity unit when it’s closed.
"I’m not sure why they struggle so much with this one."
Ally Hiles, coordinator of the Save Ludlow Maternity Unit campaign, gave birth to baby Amelie just over a year ago.
She said: “I didn’t choose to give birth at home, with my baby delivered by my husband. I didn’t choose to have my life and my baby’s life put at risk.
"This was forced on me by the SaTH managers who showed and are still showing complete contempt for women living out here in rural areas. Why is my baby’s life worth less than the life of a baby born in Shrewsbury or Telford?”
Gill George, chairwoman of Shropshire Defend Our NHS, added: “Our analysis shows that almost immediately we could have around 250 women giving birth in our rural MLUs.
"All that needs to happen is for SaTH to respect women’s choice, and implement national advice on supporting women with low risk pregnancies to give birth in community settings.
"Instead, it’s the same approach as with Future Fit.
"Centralise, centralise, centralise; ignore access and choice; force people to fit in with grand organisational schemes that don’t meet their needs.”
Tracey Huffer, Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow East and a practising nurse, said she was appalled by this decision but that it was not a surprise.
She said: “Over the last few years, the maternity unit in Ludlow has been closed at short notice several times, as have those in Bridgnorth and Oswestry.
"That means that women anxious about giving birth would have been crazy to plan for a local delivery.
“I am angry that the hospital trust is now using the fall in rural births as an excuse to shut the MLUs indefinitely.
"This is before the long delayed consultation on the future of the maternity units has taken place."
