There’s growing opposition to the closure of the Crowborough Birthing Unit.
Mothers and residents, alongside MP Nusrat Ghani, are urging the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust to rethink the decision.
The Trust says the closure is temporary and due to staff shortages.
More than 3,000 people have signed a petition calling for the service to be reinstated.
Nusrat Ghani said: “It is absurd that the Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust closed a best-in-class service, which is being requested by pregnant mums in the area.
The Birthing Centre is presently offering other midwifery services except births. It makes no sense to deny mums the choice to have a midwifery-led birth at the unit.
I am concerned that the local NHS Trust is deliberately running the service down. Staffing issues can only be solved by recruiting more staff, which the NHS Trust is not currently doing. So, they are either overcomplicating the situation or there is something that they are not prepared to tell us.
The decision of the Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust to close the birthing unit overnight is underhand. It was wrong and we will fight this. They are denying mums the choice of accessing a midwifery-led birth locally and rushing them into having a clinical birth outside of the area.
We will continue fighting for the Birthing Centre to reopen.
I am grateful to everyone who joined the protest, especially mums and expectant mums who are directly impacted by the closure.
My petition already has over 3,300 signatures. Join the fight to save the Centre and sign the petition here: www.nusghani.org.uk/birthingcentre.”
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