Ending births forever at rural maternity units will be 'huge blow'

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) is proposing to extend the suspension of births at the units in Bridgnorth, Oswestry and Ludlow until a long-term plan for the county's maternity services is put in place.

SaTH has launched a six-week public engagement exercise to find out the impact this would have on women and their families.

Under the proposal and long-term plans for services – which have been set out by Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Groups – births may never return to the rural midwife-led units (MLUs).

Tracey Huffer, who is a working nurse and Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow East, says the latest proposal has left her "lost for words".

She said: "We have been here before. We have been backwards and forwards time and time again on closures and consultations.

“But SaTH has not listened to anything said so far. Rural mothers around the county have shouted loud that they want to give birth locally.

"They have organised protest marches. But the health trust has not listened to anything.

“Families in rural areas deserve first class local maternity services. We have had that service until just a few years ago.

"SaTH now wants to withdraw midwifery led maternity services from rural areas.

“The time is long overdue for SaTH to recognise that it is also the Shropshire hospital trust. It must serve us all.

“It will be a huge blow to rural life if mothers are permanently banned from giving births in our community hospitals.”

Gill George, chairwoman for Shropshire Defend Our NHS, added: "They continue to show total contempt for women in rural communities and are putting their lives at risk.

"It's scandalous."

SaTH says that services at the rural MLUs have been temporarily suspended on safety grounds to address the ongoing operational pressures within the service.

Its proposal is for the temporary suspensions to continue until a new long-term sustainable model of care can be implemented by Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin CCGs.

The trust announced last month that inpatient services at the rural MLUs would remain temporarily suspended for the foreseeable future.

All three units remain open between 8am and 8pm for antenatal and postnatal services.

SaTH's engagement period will run until August 13.

People can give their views through a questionnaire or discussion groups.

The feedback will be analysed by the trust’s community engagement team and presented to the trust board, alongside any associated recommendations regarding future temporary suspensions, in a meeting on September 27.

Health bosses say more than 98 per cent of women are giving birth away from the rural MLUs and the trust has to deploy its midwives where women are choosing, or are being assessed as needing, to be.

A public consultation on the long-term plans for maternity services is expected to take at least three months to begin.

The questionnaire is available at surveymonkey.co.uk/r/1804SaTHMS2 or people can request a hard copy by calling 01743 261000, extension 3840.