Bridgnorth and Oswestry to lose baby units in new plans

The plans, to go out for consultation would completely close the units in Oswestry and Bridgnorth. Mothers in Oswestry have already said they will fight for retention of services such as ante-natal scans.

Whitchurch would gain in the new service model becoming one of five 'maternity hubs' in the county, supporting birthing units at the Princess Royal Hospital and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

NHS Shropshire’s Clinical Commissioning Group unveiled the plans to go out for consultation at a meeting on Wednesday.

The five maternity ‘hubs’ would provide midwifery care and a range of other services, open seven days a week, 12 hours a day.

They are proposed to be at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, alongside the Midwife Led Unit, the Princess Royal alongside the MLU, Lakeside South in south Telford, Ludlow and Whitchurch.

Shropshire GP, Dr Jess Sokolov, clinical lead for the MLU Review and Deputy Clinical Chair of NHS Shropshire CCG said: “The configuration of the MLUs we have now is what was in place when I moved to the county 30 years ago, but people’s needs have changed significantly over the years. We know from staff and the data that where there is low activity we often have too many staff, and where we have high activity, we need more.

"That means that we aren’t offering the best experience we can for ladies and their families around the county so we need to look at the changes we need to make."

Oswestry mother of four, Liz Grayston, who has led the fight to keep maternity service in the town, said the news had been met with total shock.

"We thought there would be proposals to permanently shut the beds at Oswestry, but to hear that they want to close the unit down altogether, to not even have a hub in Oswestry is dreadful," she said.

"Oswestry is a growing town, plans have been approved for at least 600 more homes. People at the meeting were told that the data put forward was that it took 17 minutes to get to Shrewsbury, which is impossible.

"And anyone without a car can not get to Whitchurch, apart from going via Shrewsbury."

Mrs Grayston said more and more mothers-to-be would opt to go out of the county to Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

"That would push the pressure onto Wrexham," she said.

Shropshire Defend our NHS said: "These plans will be going out to formal consultation in the Spring. In the meantime, maternity campaigners will be planning their response."