Nusrat Ghani, MP for Sussex Weald, continues to work with the Friends of Crowborough Hospital on pressing the local NHS Trusts to reopen the Crowborough Birthing Centre.
Last week, 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 Adam Doyle, and Chief Executive of NHS Surrey Heartlands & NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board Karen McDowell.
In October 2025, a rally organised by the Friends saw over 200 local mums and residents come together against the closure of the Birthing Centre. Furthermore, a petition that has been set up on Nusrat’s website has already gained nearly 4,000 signatures, demonstrating how valuable the service is locally. The data collected through the petition shows that over 500 local mums or mums-to-be would choose a midwifery-led birth at Crowborough Birthing Centre if it were open.
At the meeting, Nusrat demanded answers as to when decisions will be made about the Centre’s future, and how will the data that was collected be used as part of the assessment for reopening.
Nusrat Ghani said: “Over the last 10 years, I have fought alongside The Friends of Crowborough Hospital many times against the Birthing Centre’s repeated closures. I am grateful to everyone who has signed my petition, helping me showcase to the NHS Trusts and decision makers that it is a key community asset that would be used much more if it weren’t disrupted by closures. I would also like to thank Kay and Genevieve from Friends of Crowborough Hospital for their tireless work on this matter. I will continue fighting for the Centre to reopen. I have requested more information about the timelines for assessments and decision-making, and I look forward to hearing more details on this from the NHS leaders by the end of the month.”
Photograph above was taken by Katie at Chapter Thirty Six www.chapterthirtysix.co.uk.
