Father's anger after baby is born in ambulance

11:20am Thursday 30th August 2007

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A father is angry that the backdoor closure of Malton maternity unit led to his daughter being born in the car park of Scarborough Hospital.

Clive Milson and his partner, Sally West, from Huttons Ambo, had booked into Malton Hospital for the birth of their new baby but when she went into labour they were told there weren't enough midwives on duty to help with the delivery.

They were told to phone 999 for an ambulance and paramedics whisked Sally away to Scarborough Hospital, 20 miles away. But the new arrival, Phoebe Milson, couldn't wait a second longer and she was born in the ambulance in the grounds of the hospital.

Despite the drama the tot was none the worse for her ordeal but her father is outraged at the circumstances surrounding his daughter's birth, claiming her life had been put in danger.

The 58-year-old said: "It's easy to lose a life in a situation like this. I thank my lucky stars that our little girl was delivered safe and well, even if it was in the back of an ambulance.

"I have nothing but praise for the paramedic ambulance crew, who, despite being overstretched, dealt with the birth admirably.

"I'm speaking out because others might not be as fortunate and it's all for the sake of saving money. They are gambling with people's lives.

"We are the fourth richest country in the world and if the Government cannot give priority to the health of the nation, then we have a grave problem."

Last year bosses from Scarborough NHS trust, which runs the maternity unit in Malton, announced that they plan to axe deliveries at the wing, prompting a strong backlash from the local community.

The Gazette & Herald soon launched its Birthright campaign, putting pressure on the health trust to keep the unit open.

But at a recent trust board meeting members ruled that they will stop deliveries in Malton, Whitby and Bridlington Hospitals forcing mothers to travel to either Scarborough or York to give birth.

County council health watchdogs have since referred the matter to the secretary of state for health, who will have the final say on the closure.

Now Mr Milson, a painter and decorator, has added his weight to the campaign.

He said: "I have three grown up children and two of them were born in Malton hospital. They have excellent facilities at the local maternity unit - what's the point in travelling miles away to have a baby when you can have it in your home town?

"The vast amount of money that is being pumped into the NHS seems to be swallowed by management and only a trickle filters through to the grassroots.

"Malton maternity unit should not be closed - if anything the Government should be pumping more money into local services.

"Now people have to travel further and further for medical attention. How can this be providing better care?"

Gilly Collinson from Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust said they are going forward with their plan to axe deliveries at Malton Hospital.

She said: "We are glad that baby arrived safely but we were sorry that staffing levels didn't enable the birth to take place at Malton Hospital.

"The plan for the future is to have a high quality home-from-home unit at Scarborough Hospital which we believe will give all mums the greater opportunity of enjoying a midwife led birth.

"Unfortunately babies do sometimes arrive quicker than anticipated but we are glad this story did have a happy ending."