Maternity centre pause 'closure by the backdoor'

Campaigners fighting to save a maternity unit in Leicestershire fear a "temporary pause" will be made permanent and result in its closure.

NHS bosses halted deliveries at St Mary's Birth Centre - a low risk, midwifery-led unit - in Melton Mowbray last July due to concerns about staffing and safety.

University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) NHS Trust initially said the pause would be for six months, but last month announced it did not plan to resume births.

Now, the NHS integrated care board (ICB) for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland is due to discuss options for the centre - where the number of births had fallen to fewer than two per week - at a meeting next month.

Health bosses have a vision to have one major maternity unit for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland at Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) as part of the national New Hospitals Programme.

Also, following a consultation in 2021, it was decided services at St Mary's would be relocated to a new standalone midwifery-led unit at Leicester General Hospital, about 15 miles (24km) away.

However, changes in government had delayed construction to 2032.

UHL said 92 births occurred at St Mary's last year compared to 9,331 across the two city hospitals.

The decision to pause births on 7 July 2025, while work is carried out to determine next steps, was met with protests from supporters of the unit last August.

The trust has since launched an "engagement process" to find out from families and staff about the impact of the pause.

Anna Foster, 36, from Ashfordby Hill in Leicestershire, whose first daughter was born at the centre in 2021, said: "I fear it's closure by the backdoor.

"This pause was put in place so they could initiate closure."

Kim McKinnon, 31, from Barleythorpe in Rutland, who gave birth to both her children at the centre, said she was "impressed with the experience" and also feared the pause would be made permanent.

"They said it was six months initially, I think we have gone over that now," she said.

"They have been trying to close the birth centre since 2021.

"I can't see them going back now, so I am worried it is going to be permanent.

"It is a huge loss to the community. There are midwives that have been there for 20 or so years, they know the community and they know the women."

Melissa Hawksley, 32, who lives in Melton, was directly impacted by the pause.

The mother of two was forced to travel to Leicester to have her second child Millie in October.

"I would have loved to have gone to St Mary's," she said.

"It would have been a lot closer to home, instead of having to travel to Leicester to give birth."

Maria Laffan, chief nurse at ICB, said while some options were expected next month, no decisions had been made on the centre's future during the process.

"For me, it is really important to get a feel and understanding of what this local service had offered to families and residents in the area in the past and the impact of not having it now," she said.

"That fundamentally will lead to, do we continue with a pause? Is there a closure of the service? What are the next steps that need to be considered in what happens next?"

People have been asked to share their views until Sunday to help the trust "shape the best way forward".

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