Following the most recent meeting convened between the Friends of Crowborough Hospital and the bosses of local NHS, Nusrat Ghani, MP for Sussex Weald, has obtained further information regarding the reopening of the Crowborough Birthing Centre.
In January, Nusrat convened a meeting which brought together the Friends of Crowborough Hospital, representatives of local maternity services and midwifery-led services, the Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells Trust Chief Executive Miles Scott, Chief Executive of NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) Adam Doyle, and Chief Executive of NHS Surrey Heartlands & NHS Sussex ICB Karen McDowell.
At the meeting, Nusrat demanded answers as to how will the data that was collected be used as part of the assessment for reopening and requested more information about the timelines for assessments and decision-making.
The Chief Executive Officers of the NHS Kent and Medway ICB and the NHS Surrey Heartlands & NHS Sussex ICB have now confirmed that:
- The temporary closure is in place until May.
- There is currently no specific timeline for a decision about the centre’s reopening.
- Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust will continue discussions on how the challenges at the service would be able to be resolved and what is needed for the service to operate safely.
- Both NHS Kent and Medway ICB and NHS Sussex ICB are conducting strategic review of their services across the area, including maternity services.
- It is expected that the initial analysis of NHS Sussex ICB services will be completed by July.
Nusrat Ghani said: “I am grateful to everyone who has signed my petition. I absolutely recognise the strength of support for the centre and every signature is helping me showcase to the NHS Trusts and decision makers that it is a key community asset, which would be used much more if it weren’t disrupted by ongoing closures. It is regrettable that the Trust currently has no timeline for a decision about the centre’s reopening. This is not good enough for local mums who would have used the centre had it not been closed since October. Mums deserve a choice and I will continue to do what I’ve always done – fight for the birthing centre’s reopening.”
