AS people marched through Ludlow in support of the maternity unit in the town, a decision had already been made to downgrade the service.

But health chiefs say that the move will still enable women from the Ludlow area to have their babies and other care close to home.

Faced with the need to save millions of pounds, NHS chiefs have decided that the maternity unit at Ludlow hospital will be changed to a ‘birthing centre'.

Sarah Jamison, head of midwifery at the Shropshire and Telford NHS Trust says that the change is a more sensible use of resources and will mean that pregnant women continue to receive the same level of care as before.

“Birthing centres maintain the full range of services offered by Midwife-Led Units but do not remain open overnight; instead operating through an on-call system,” said Sarah Jamison.

“Mums-to-be requiring intrapartum care would meet their midwife at the unit and would then be supported through labour and with their immediate post-natal care before being discharged home when it was considered safe for them to do so.

“This is similar to the model used very successfully in Powys.”

The march from Ludlow Castle to the hospital was organised following the closure earlier in the autumn of the maternity unit for a week because of problems with the building.

It was subsequently reopened in a moth-balled ward at Ludlow hospital and Simon Wright, chief executive of the NHS Trust gave assurances about the future of the maternity unit at a public meeting of the local health forum.

Tracey Huffer, Shropshire councillor for Ludlow East and a practising nurse, is unconvinced and very concerned about the plans.

“It is impossible to predict the onset of labour and the need for midwifery services,” said Tracey Huffer.

“Midwives may have to travel up 30 miles to open Ludlow maternity unit in the middle of the night. Women about to give birth will probably instead call an emergency ambulance to get taken to Shrewsbury, Telford or Hereford hospitals.

“What happens to the women who have given birth? Many need a rest and help with how best to cope with their babies. They need support in initial breastfeeding. With these plans, it looks like mothers will be thrown out of hospital pretty quickly rather than given the care and advice they need.

“We have seen this before in rural areas. It happened in Knighton, Powys where the maternity unit was gradually downgraded and women found they had to go elsewhere to give birth.

“Knighton is now just a birthing centre and the few births there are by appointment.

She believes that the £95,000 a year that the change will save is not justified and could be the first step on the way to a further downgrading of the service.

“I really fear that this is the first step in making Shropshire’s three midwife-led units appointment only and worry that the changes will threaten ante-natal and post-natal services in Ludlow," she said.

“Our young mothers deserve better than this. We need maternity services close to home.”