Maternity services face cutbacks

Seven midwives at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital are on maternity leave

Maternity services at Gloucestershire's Royal Hospital are being cut back because of a budget overspend.

The birthing unit has been closed until further notice as seven of its midwives are on maternity leave and cannot afford to be replaced.

The unit is expected to be closed for three to five months.

However a scaled-down service has been moved to its delivery suite where a quarter of the beds have had to be sacrificed to integrate it.

Specific rooms have been altered to accommodate sofas, birthing mattresses, balls and low lighting - to create a "home-from-home" atmosphere.

Local expectant mothers have criticised the move by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

However, divisional director Paul Byrne, said services were not being withdrawn from Gloucester.

"We're still providing the midwife-led service but in the delivery suite not the birthing unit," he said.