Maternity units 'facing meltdown'

Maternity services in NI face "complete meltdown" if planned cuts at Lagan Valley Hospital in Lisburn go ahead.

The claim was made by the chairwoman of the Royal Jubilee Maternity liaison committee Joy Poots.

Lagan Valley's maternity unit is due to close within 18 months. About 1,200 babies are born there annually.

Health Minister Michael McGimpsey said the comments were "unhelpful" and undermined confidence in "an effective and caring maternity service".

Ms Poots, who also heads the regional group of maternity liaison committees, said the proposed closure would have a detrimental impact on other hospitals, and the maternity units at the Royal in Belfast and Craigavon were already at bursting point.

Mr McGimpsey said the proposal was "consistent with the department?s strategy for the development of acute hospital services in Northern Ireland that consultant-led inpatient obstetric services should be provided from centres where the full range of services for mothers and their new babies".

Ante-natal

He added that under current proposals ante-natal and post-natal maternity services would remain at Lagan Valley.

Ms Poots said any increased pressure at other hospitals "as a result of the desire to cut costs will have severe health and safety implications for patients".

"If the proposed cuts to maternity units go ahead, it will only be a matter of time before Northern Ireland maternity services as a whole go into complete meltdown - these cuts in frontline services simply must not go ahead."