Health boss insists no final decision made on future of Melton baby unit
Campaigners have been told by a senior health official that no final decision has been made on the future of Melton’s baby unit after they were ‘deeply alarmed’ by a recent meeting with him.
University of Leicester NHS Hospitals Trust (UHL) said it was necessary to suspend births and inpatient postnatal care St Mary’s Birth Centre for six months from July, due to severe staffing shortages and a drop off in the number of women having babies there.
The Save St Mary’s Birth Centre campaign team are organising a march through Melton Mowbray on August 30 to highlight their drive to ensure the baby unit reopens in January and their online petition has already been signed by more than 1,700 people.
And members met with Richard Mitchell, chief executive of UHL, to discuss their concerns and press their case for the need to reopen the birth centre for families in the county as well as the Melton area.
They came away from the meeting with the impression that the baby unit would not reopen for births and postnatal care after the six-month period although Mr Mitchell has since insisted that no final decision has yet been made.
The campaigners said in a statement: “We left that meeting deeply alarmed with his expressed position that the birth centre would not be reopening in January 2026.
“Contrary to the ‘six months pause’ description of the ‘temporary’ closure, we were told that there is, in fact, no current plan in place for its reopening and no desire to formulate one.
“In light of this, we feel the language of ‘pause’ and ‘temporary’ used to date has been less than honest and we are disappointed that this does indeed seem to be - as has been our concern - closure by the back door.”
St Mary’s Birth Centre was due to relocate to Leicester General Hospital as part of the health authority’s plans to consolidate all maternity services in the city but that could be up to five years off with a major transformation of hospital services taking place.
Save St Mary’s Birth Centre said in their statement: “We maintain our view that, to leave the Trust without a midwife-led freestanding unit before that time is a dereliction of duty by the Trust.”
In response to the campaigners’ concerns, UHL chief executive, Mr Mitchell, told the Melton Times: "Pausing births and inpatient care at the Centre from July 7 was a difficult but necessary step.
"We did this to ensure the safety of mums and babies - nothing is more important.
"We are currently working with colleagues at the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board to determine next steps for St Mary's Birth Centre.
"This includes discussion of the safety risks and mitigation.
"No decision has yet been made, and we anticipate this will happen before January 2026. We will continue to keep people informed.”
Meanwhile, details have been confirmed about the ‘family-friendly’ protest event on August 30.
Participants are asked to gather at 10.15am, outside the King’s Head on Nottingham Street, before setting off on a march at 10.30am with activities to be held at the bandstand in New Park.
Go to www.change.org/p/reopen-and-secure-st-mary-s-birth-centre if you would like to sign the campaign petition.