Hundreds respond to maternity unit consultation
LDRSHundreds of people have responded to a public consultation over plans to keep the maternity unit at Pontefract Hospital closed.
Friarwood Birth Centre was temporarily shut in 2019 on safety grounds due to a midwife shortage.
In January 2024 Wakefield District Health and Care Partnership (WDHCP) agreed to permanently close the facility, but the decision was put on hold following criticism from Wakefield Council's NHS scrutiny committee.
Since the consultation began last month, about 250 people have taken part.
Ruth Unwin, WDHCP's director of strategy, told a scrutiny committee meeting: "That feels very positive because we know that things often take a while to take off by word of mouth. We hope that will build up towards the end rather than slow down."
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Ms Unwin said 77% of respondents were using, or had used, maternity services in the district and that two thirds of respondents were from Pontefract, Castleford or surrounding areas.
Committee member Charlie Keith told the meeting he was concerned about the impact of the closure on Pinderfields birth unit, in Wakefield.
"I would like to see us have some kind of indicator about its ability to cope, so we can be assured that the proposed new arrangements are working now and will be adequate for the future," he said.
Ms Unwin said WDHCP was developing a business case that would show Pinderfields had the capacity to cope.
Councillors previously accused local NHS decision-makers of "deliberately running down" the service to justify its closure.
The last public engagement on potential closure was carried out in 2018 and 2019.
At the time, the NHS said the number of births at Pontefract was "lower than expected" so it could not justify midwives being deployed there, with about 200 women giving birth at the unit each year.
The consultation will run until 18 May.
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