'Speak up if you want to keep maternity unit' (From Gazette & Herald)

'Speak up if you want to keep maternity unit'

LOCAL people must make their voices heard in opposition to any plan to close Malton Hospital's "superb" maternity unit, according to a Norton GP.

Dr Warren Grant, senior partner at Derwent Surgery, in Norton, also dismissed any question marks over safety at the unit, which some felt were implied by NHS bosses at a meeting held last week.

At the meeting, the possibility of shutting Malton Hospital's maternity unit, as well as others at Whitby and Bridlington, as part of modernising maternity care in the area, was discussed by members of the Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust.

The suggestion that services could be centralised to Scarborough to provide better medical back-up in case of emergency was taken by some at the meeting to imply that births at the Malton maternity unit were potentially unsafe.

Dr Grant said that he was "most upset" by the implication of a safety issue at the unit, describing such a suggestion as "totally erroneous". He added that centralising services in Scarborough would be "purely a financial move. There was never any question over safety at Malton Hospital".

Dr Grant said that one of his colleagues had written to the chief executive of the NHS trust to ask that this point be made clear to the general public. Speaking about the possibility of closing the maternity unit, Dr Grant said: "I am very much opposed to this. The maternity service has served the women of Ryedale and much further afield for many years and provided a superb service."

He added that this view was shared by fellow members of his practice in Norton.

Dr Grant sits on the area's primary care executive committee and said that he would make his views known to that committee. However, he said that it was vital that local people opposed to closure made their voices heard.

He said: "We hear repeatedly from this Government that they are interested in delivering local services for local people. It seems to me that the local people have got to show that they take this seriously and are prepared to provide a very strong argument why (any closure of the maternity unit) should be opposed."

Dr Grant was also unimpressed by a compromise proposal to limit the hours that the maternity unit stayed open to between 8am and 8pm. He said: "No one can tell me that that is not a massive reduction in the service. I think we are going from a safe system to an unsafe system by going down that road."

He also echoed the views of people who suggested after last week's meeting that women would not be able to receive care from their local GP if they were staying in a maternity unit in Scarborough. He added that at the moment local doctors could monitor the situation at Malton's maternity unit where a patient was in labour and then attend the hospital at the appropriate stage.

However, he said that if women were in Scarborough, doctors would not be able to leave their practices to attend them.

Dr Grant also questioned whether local people would actually go to Scarborough to give birth if Malton's maternity unit were closed. He said: "Scarborough trust have to consider that if we were to lose a maternity unit at Malton, who is to say that they would go to Scarborough? York is nearer and easier to get to."

Added Dr Grant: "I think that at the end of the day, the service (at Malton) has been shown to be a superb service. I am not aware that we have had any complaints at all about the Malton maternity unit. If we canvassed women who had delivered at Malton, we would find tremendous support."

The health trust covering Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale faces a £3m shortfall in its budget, says district auditor Lynne Snowball.

She said the trust had to make big savings during the current financial year through a recovery plan, but it would still not bring it into a sound financial position. Now the trust board is exploring other savings, including reviewing elderly care and minor injuries services.

WHO TO WRITE TO

To make your views known on the review of maternity services in the district, there are two officials you may contact. That's because the primary care trust controls the purse strings for Malton's maternity unit and the NHS trust delivers the service.

Alison Guy, chief executive, Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Health Care National Health Trust, Scarborough Hospital, Woodlands Drive, Scarborough YO12 6QL.

Michael Whitworth, chief executive, Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Primary Care Trust, 13 Yorkersgate, Malton YO17 7AA.

Healthcare officials would also like to hear from mothers-to-be with their views on where they would like to have their babies and the services they would like. Those views should also be addressed to the same chief executives.

During the review, officials have promised to widely consult with the public.

The Gazette & Herald would also be pleased to publish your views.

Updated: 09:57 Wednesday, January 15, 2003