Trust should commit to giving parents a choice
THANK you, Save St Mary’s Birth Centre campaign group, who are fighting to keep St Mary’s open, in Melton (Mercury, November 26).
As part of proposals to reorganise Leicester’s hospital, a new maternity hospital at Leicester Royal Infirmary would see St Mary’s close in favour of a midwife-led baby unit at Leicester General Hospital (subject to consultation).
However, the proposed midwifeled unit at the General is not a commitment and would only be a trial for 12 months, with a target of 500 births a year.
It’s been suggested that given this short period and high target, a trial at the General Hospital will ultimately fail.
Also, there doesn’t appear to be any capital funding for it.
If the trial is to have any chance of success it should run for three years.
But if women are to have the choice – which they should – the hospital trust should make a definite commitment to the unit.
The St Mary’s Birth Centre is highly regarded, with a reputation for providing good-quality care.
Local NHS leaders say St Mary’s is not viable because too few babies are born there.
However, research shows that free-standing midwifery units such as St Mary’s are highly cost-effective, even when run at a third of capacity, because they use far fewer resources (no doctors required) than obstetric units.
Mothers in in the city and county and Rutland should have the choice to have their babies in a birth centre like this, as national policy says.
People have up to December 21 to contribute to a consultation and online meeting are taking place.
For more, go to:
Robert Ball, on behalf of Save Our NHS Leicestershire