HEALTH campaigners in Ludlow are becoming increasingly concerned about the future of the maternity unit in the town.

A Ludlow mum claims that she was forced to give birth at home because the unit in the town was closed.

Alison Hiles, coordinator of the Save Ludlow Maternity Unit group, says she knows of the risks first hand.

She went into labour late at night on May 7 – at a time when Ludlow was closed for 60 hours so that Ludlow midwives could be moved to Telford’s Obstetric Unit.

"I’d wanted to give birth in Ludlow, but they closed it down for two-and-a-half days to move the midwives up to Telford,” said Alison.

“My labour was progressing so quickly I knew I wouldn’t make it to the Bridgnorth Maternity Unit and I’d be giving birth at the side of the road if I tried.

“Then I ended up giving birth at home, with my husband acting as midwife, and even untangling the cord round my daughter’s neck.

“The midwife from Bridgnorth arrived an hour after my baby did! How can that be safe?”

Gill George, who lives in Ludlow and leads the Shropshire Defend our NHS Group, says the situation is getting worse.

“This is plainly not a safe service, and frankly we’re sick and tired of the hospital managers pretending that this is acceptable and apologising for the inconvenience,” said Gill George.

“Every short-term closure puts the lives of mothers and babies at risk, quite apart from the real distress caused to mothers and to staff.

“Our strong fear is that it is games-playing – deliberately creating a crisis that enables them to take forward the downgrading, and then the closure, of the three rural units. And it’s quite remarkable how they always know in advance that unexpected staff sickness will last until 8am next Thursday or whatever it happens to be!”

Alison Hiles was one of two Ludlow women who organised a march through the town at the end of last year to support the town’s midwifery led maternity unit.

There have been a number of closures because of a lack of staff but health chiefs say that they are determined to maintain a safe service.

But they say the number of women who choose to give birth in Ludlow is small and needs to increase in order to make the unit viable.

Women who give birth at local units like the one in Ludlow are designated as having low-risk pregnancies. Those that are considered to be at higher risk with a danger of complications are referred to consultant-led units at acute hospitals like Shrewsbury, Telford and Hereford.

Health campaigners believe that the future of the maternity unit is linked to the future viability of the hospital in Ludlow where there is currently a minor injuries unit.

They say that any further loss of services combined with a cut in the number of beds would make Ludlow Hospital unviable and clear the way for closure.