Attempt to halt ward closures

Maternity facilities could be moved from Stirling

Councillors in Stirling are set to insist that health board chiefs re-examine their controversial plans to close a hospital's maternity and children's wards.

Officials at Forth Valley Health Board announced earlier this year a package of radical measures which would see the key facilities at Stirling Royal Infirmary being closed.

Members of Stirling Council meet on Tuesday night to devise a strategy to persuade the board to drop its plans.

They say they will notify the country's health minister and the Scottish Executive about their growing concerns.

The children's unit will go to Falkirk

When the scheme was announced as part of a £31.5m shake-up of acute services, there was a public outcry.

Women living in rural Stirlingshire protested that the move to centralise maternity services at Falkirk Royal Infirmary could mean them having to travel 50 miles to give birth.

And a subsequent report by consultants, nurses and patients concluded that children needing emergency surgery outside normal weekday working would have to be transferred to Edinburgh or Glasgow.

The special meeting of councillors will consider a 34-page report which recommends that the board look at three options for maternity and paediatric services.

Three options

The first is to maintain the status quo; the second is to centralise services using properly researched evidence and the third is to locate the maternity and children's unit alongside surgery.

Meanwhile, Falkirk Royal Infirmary's acute surgical services will be switched to Stirling under the plans.

Acute surgical services will change

The move would see the major trauma section of Falkirk's accident and emergency department relocated 10 miles away to Stirling.

New walk-in, walk-out hospitals or "ambulatory care centres" are to be created on the both sites at a cost of £24m, to deal with day care, day surgery, and diagnostics.

It is believed the units would be able to deal with the five out of six hospital patients who do not require an overnight stay.

Clackmannanshire is also to get a new community hospital, handling day care, clinics and geriatric services.