Concerns over Shropshire's maternity services aired in open letter to health bosses

The letter, signed by 559 people, has been sent to Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the midwife-led units (MLUs), and Shropshire clinical commissioning group, which has proposed a shake-up in the county's maternity services.

Under the new proposals, women will no longer be able to give birth at the rural MLUs in Oswestry, Ludlow and Bridgnorth.

Instead women will be able to give birth at the consultant-led unit at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, at the hospital’s neighbouring midwife led unit at PRH, at a free-standing midwife-led unit at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital or at home.

NHS England must now give the go-ahead for the plans to go out to public consultation.

But health campaigners fear the rural MLUs will be closed by SaTH before a consultation can begin.

The claims have been denied by the trust.

The letter claims that women do want to give birth at their local MLUs but their choice is being taken away by repeated temporary closures.

It also claims that SaTH reduced the number of midwives working at Telford's consultant led unit from 2015 and 2017 and the newly recruited midwives are now not experienced enough to work on their own in a rural MLU.

The letter says: "Stop pretending that rural communities support your maternity cuts. Most importantly, start listening and call a halt to cuts that will place lives at risk.”

It continues: "We do not support your plans.

"We do not want short term closures, and we do not believe for one second that the solution to short term closures is permanent closure.

"All we want is safe care – for women in Telford and Shrewsbury and women in rural areas."

Alison Hiles, coordinator of the Save Ludlow Maternity Unit campaign, is among those who have signed the letter.

She said: "We’ve had enough now. They’re driving through cuts that they know – and we know – will place lives at risk.

"We’ve had five babies born without midwife support in Ludlow in a matter of months.

"They say that’s normal but it’s never, ever happened before. It’s a matter of time until someone dies from these cuts and we will hold health bosses responsible."

Bobbie Brown, coordinator of the Save Bridgnorth Maternity Unit campaign, also signed the letter.

She said: "They need to start listening to women. We’re sick and tired of the games playing and excuses, and the recycled lie that women support what they’re doing. Women want to be heard."

Gill George, from Shropshire Defend Our NHS, and Liz Grayston, coordinator of Save Oswestry Maternity Unit campaign, have also added their names to the letter.

Heath campaigners have already expressed their dismay at the repeated temporary overnight closures of the county's rural MLUs.

They reopened to births on New Year’s Day after a suspension due to staffing issues last year.

But there have been a series of temporary overnight closures since then that SaTH has blamed on staff sickness.

SaTH has suspended services at Oswestry MLU until Sunday, saying it will ensure the safe care of mothers using the county's maternity services.

The trust says just two per cent of births have taken place at the rural MLUs since January 1.

Dr Simon Freeman, accountable officer at Shropshire CCG, said “The proposed consultation on Shropshire’s MLUs, to take place during 2018, will allow the whole population of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin to give feedback on the proposals agreed in principle by Shropshire CCG and Telford & Wrekin CCG.”

Anthea Gregory Page, deputy head of midwifery at SaTH, said: “Full services resumed at our MLUs on January 1. During January, we saw eight babies delivered at these units, compared with 376 at our other units (Shrewsbury MLU, Wrekin MLU and the consultant-led unit at the PRH).

“The safety of our mums and their babies is paramount and to ensure that, we must make sure that our staff are where our mums are.”