Campaigners and service users, as well as local MP Philip Dunne and Cllr Julia Buckley, are disappointed by the sudden closure of Bridgnorth Maternity Unit by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust (SaTH) Board and are calling for a return of services as soon as possible. The closure has been blamed on staffing issues and ‘a combination of short‐term and long‐term sickness in recent months’ and a low number of local births in the units.
A consultation process is now underway, which saw a large number of mothers coming to the Bridgnorth Unit at short notice in July to give their feedback and overwhelming support for the local service. There’s a further consultation meeting on Thursday 7 September to which all service users who have had a baby in the last 2.5 years are welcome. Bridgnorth councillors have written to Simon Wright and Sarah Jamieson of SaTH explaining that the closure of the unit could have a devastating effect on our local economy, in terms of young families settling here. SaTH have indicated there was no intention for these closures to become permanent, and confirmed SaTH’s commitment to providing a ‘Hub and Spoke’ model for midwifery, which promotes local rural services remaining available in the county and confirmed the trust is pressing ahead with recruiting more midwives immediately.
Anyone who wishes to respond to the engagement exercise is invited to email head of midwifery at SaTH directly sarah.jamieson@sath.nhs.uk.
