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Campaign continues to save Malmesbury and Devizes maternity units

Sarah | 28.03.2004 22:03 | Health | Social Struggles | Oxford

Update on the campaign to defend Malmesbury and Devizes Maternity Units

The local health authority has announced plans to close both units. They are consulting with the public on this proposal until the 26th April.

Update on the campaign to defend Malmesbury and Devizes Maternity Units

The local health authority has announced plans to close both units. They are consulting with the public on this proposal until the 26th April.

This is to announce two things:

We have arranged for a public meeting at Malmesbury Town Hall at 1.30pm on Saturday 3rd April. The meeting will be chaired by James Gray MP who has also invited all directors of both the Primary Care Trust and Strategic Health Authority (the people who tell the PCT what to do). Julia Drown MP and Michael Ancram MP will also be attending. Richard Hallett will make a presentation on the advantages of small maternity units (medical, social and financial). There will be opportunity to make your views heard. Please come along and show your support!

And secondly our website is up and running on www.savemalmesburymaternityunit.co.uk. Please let us know what you think.

And to inform you of some new information:

The PCT have finally released some information about how they plan to save money from shutting these two units. Half the money saved would come from job cuts! 11.5 full-time equivalent jobs would go in the reorganisation. This represents 16% of the workforce and shows that conditions will certainly get much worse for both staff and patients under the new proposals. Post-natal care in particular will suffer and recruitment and retention of midwives is likely to become more of a problem.

Sarah
- Homepage: http://www.savemalmesburymaternityunit.co.uk