Midwife-led maternity unit reopens in Ludlow

Maternity services which were halted over concerns about the condition of a building have restarted.

Ludlow Community Hospital closed its midwife-led unit last month saying a structural survey was needed.

The unit's services have reopened in a more modern building on the same site, Shropshire NHS Trust said.

Shropshire Defend Our NHS claims Ludlow and two other midwife-led units are still at risk of closure in the longer term.

For more on this and other Shropshire news

The trust said the decision to suspend maternity services last month had not been "taken lightly" but was in the best interest of mothers, babies and staff.

Residents started a campaign called Save Ludlow Maternity Unit following the news.

Most of the unit's services have moved to the hospital's Stretton Ward.

Jo Banks, of the trust's Women and Children's Care Group, said Ludlow was now able to offer water births for the first time.

Welcoming the reopening of the unit, Gill George, Chair of Shropshire Defend Our NHS, said she feared it could close next year with midwife-led units in Oswestry and Bridgnorth also at risk because of spending cuts.

The trust has not commented on the claims.