Town anger at maternity plan

HOSPITAL chiefs came under fire from the public over moves to centralise maternity services at Scarborough. A packed meeting in Whitby left Iain McInnes, interim chief executive of Scarborough and East Yorkshire Health Trust, in no doubt as to the strength of feeling against the proposed end to home births in the town.

Hundreds of people including mothers, councillors, midwives and concerned residents were all at the Whitby Pavilion meeting organised by North Yorkshire County Council's Scrutiny of Health Committee.

Mr McInnes outlined the three options under consideration - making no changes, increasing services at Whitby, Malton and Bridlington and the trust's preferred option of discontinuing home from home births at the three hospitals and basing a dedicated team at Scarborough Hospital.

He said: “I want to address the misconception that it is any safer having a baby at hospital than it is at home.

“In a hospital you have two midwives, one for the mother and one for the baby, and a GP on call and you have the same for a home birth. Obviously anybody who experiences complications whether at home or at Whitby Hospital is transferred to Scarborough.” Resident Mick Robson asked the meeting: “You say midwives from Whitby go to Scarborough when there is a shortage. Do midwives from Scarborough come to Whitby when we are short?”

Mr McInnes replied that the trust was not responsible for staffing but added: “We send more midwives to Scarborough because they deal with more births there, almost 1,400 a year.”

A young mother attending the meeting with her recently-born child said that there was no choice open to expectant mothers.

She said: “My baby was born in Scarborough in January and not by choice.

“There were no midwives available in Whitby so I had to go to Scarborough and I had wanted to have a home birth.

“You are saying mothers have a choice but there is no choice.

“I wrote a letter to you telling you about this and you did not reply.”

Mr McInnes said: “I apologise to you for that.

“We do aim to offer women the choice of a home birth but we need two midwives available and sometimes due to illness or another reason there won't be.

“When there is a staff shortage the staff are drawn to the centre at Scarborough because that is where we have the most births.”

“I am sorry but that's rubbish,” replied the mother, “if you shut that unit there is not going to be a choice.I had to go to Scarborough in agony because I couldn't't give birth in Whitby.”

Mick Pilling (writes) Chairman Save Bridlington Hospital Campaign Action Group

The Scrutiny Committee are very annoyed with the Scarborough NHS Healthcare Trust and Primary Care Trusts has they try to axe many services across the East/North Yorkshire; The cuts in services are nothing more than cost saving exercises; has the Trust & PCT's try very hard to bring there massive debt under control some £53m we put it down to bad management and costly wages for suits.

We must all work together and fight against such ludicrous cuts to Maternity Services; Minor Injuries Units; closure of Wards; the complete lack of Staff; the ban on recruitment and the ban on overtime.

At time I wonder if these so called Trusts & PCT's really care about the patient; they seem to put money and cost first and the Patients second; Mr McInnes seems to be very good at taking services out of hospital's but has yet to put anything in?  Go home Mr McInnes and leave our hospitals en-tact for the future; look after the patients and stop colsing services.

Mick Pilling