A LIFELINE has been thrown to the long-closed Hemel Birth Centre with the announcement of a review of maternity services in Hertfordshire.
The work will include investigating the possibility of reopening the unit for low-risk births in Hemel Hempstead, which was axed two years ago.
The award-winning unit was praised by the women who gave birth there but West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust
shut it down as a money-saving measure in the face of massive debts.
Full maternity services, including the special care baby unit, were closed at Hemel Hempstead Hospital in 2003 despite a huge public backlash.
The review will be carried out by Allan Templeton, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Aberdeen, and past president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
He will be supported by Angela Canning, who is currently head of midwifery services at the Princess Royal Hospital in Bromley, south London.
Their remit is to look at whether the Hemel Birth Centre could be reopened and what ante and post natal services should be provided in the community or at hospitals like Hemel Hempstead's.
The work, which starts in May, will also cover what support should be given to women wanting to give birth at home.
A final report will be produced in September.
Anne Walker, chief executive of the Hertfordshire primary care trusts, said: "Our priority is to make sure that the NHS in Hertfordshire provides safe and sustainable care for the majority of mums who will have a normal birth, and for those who may need the more specialist support that is available from consultants at an acute site.
"For women to have access to these different levels of care, we need close working between different professional groups and between the different parts of the NHS which provide maternity services.
"We also need to give women the information and support to help them make decisions and choices.
"This review will give us a detailed view of how we should move forward with maternity provision outside of hospital.
"What may be the best for one area may not be the right solution for another, so our review team will be speaking to doctors, midwives and parents to assess local need and to listen to their views."
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