Maternity unit fears prompt call for guarantee

Council leaders have called on the government to guarantee maternity services at a hospital will reopen after NHS leaders warned that smaller maternity units across England could face permanent closure.

Birthing services at North Devon District Hospital's maternity unit have been suspended since 11 August because of staff shortages.

Jess Bailey, chair of Devon County Council's health scrutiny committee, said she was "appalled that closing smaller units including Barnstaple is now on the agenda".

The Department of Health and Social Care said it had "committed £271m" to "improving the safety of maternity and neonatal estates".

The suspension at the hospital, which serves north Devon and part of north-east Cornwall, has meant pregnant mothers in the Barnstaple area alone now face a 53-mile (85km) trip to Exeter to give birth.

Campaigners said 194 women who would use the unit had travelled to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital to give birth since the north Devon unit's closure.

Bailey's comments came after Matthew Hopkins, director of acute care for the NHS Alliance, said maternity services should be consolidated into fewer hospitals and some smaller units delivering fewer than 2,000 births a year may need to close.

The NHS Alliance said up to 20 smaller maternity units in England could be at risk as part of efforts to improve patient safety.

Bailey said councillors had heard first-hand about the impact of the suspension on families and argued "proper funding is the solution" rather than closing units.

Bailey also criticised what she described as a lack of response from the government to requests for intervention.

She said: "Not only does [Secretary of State for Health and Social Care] Yvette Cooper need to reopen the unit within days, she needs to assure thousands of women across North Devon it will stay open and be staffed properly for years to come."

Council leader Julian Brazil said expectant mothers should not have to make journeys of up to two hours on rural roads to access maternity care.

He said: "Consultants and doctors should be driving to Barnstaple, not mothers-to-be and their loved ones travelling up to two hours."

The trust has previously said patient safety remained its "overriding priority".

It said, while the suspension continued, "all current support arrangements remain in place".

Additional clinical, financial and travel support had been put in place to support women during their pregnancy, including extra appointments, accommodation expenses and how to access free taxis, the trust said.

Women are advised to contact maternity triage on 01392 406616 early if they think they may be in labour or have urgent concerns.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "This government inherited a broken NHS with the hospital estate left to crumble, and maternity and neonatal services in need of major reform."

They added that the government had "committed £271m through the Estates Safety Fund into schemes related to improving the safety of maternity and neonatal estates".

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.