In accordance with the Constitution, motions on notice must be signed by at least two Members and be about matters for which the Council has a responsibility or which affect the Melton Borough.
The following motion was received from Councillor Fisher (Seconded by Councillor Smedley and supported by Councillor Pearson):
Proposed closure of St Mary’s St Mary's Birth Centre, Melton
Mowbray.
The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland
Clinical Commissioning Group are proposing to close St Mary’s Birth Centre and replace
it with a Midwife led birth centre at the Leicester General Hospital for a
trial period of 12 months.
This current
proposal needs to provide more details on how local community based
births, postnatal, antenatal and other related services will be
affected.
Recent Studies
support the use of smaller birthing centres where care is personalised to the
patient as the way forward. Concerns
have also been raised regarding the capacity at Leicester General Hospital and
the ability to deal with the increased workload as a result of these proposals.
Careful consideration needs to be given to access, travel time, public
transport availability, parking and fuel expenses and the environmental impact
before a final decision is made.
In order to recognise the concerns of the residents of the
Melton Borough in relation to the proposed closure of the St Mary’s Birth
Centre the Council:
(1)
Requests that the local National
Health Service and LLR CCG provide more information in relation to the
impact of the proposed closure on access, travel time, public transport,
parking, fuel expense and environmental impact and the steps that will be taken
to mitigate and monitor these impacts should the proposals go ahead.
(2) Requests that the local National Health Service and LLR CCG
provide information in relation to the feasibility of the proposal that evidences and provides
assurance regarding the way in which the new facilities in Leicester would
serve the residents of Melton Mowbray better than the current established local
service provided at St Mary’s.
Minutes:
(Councillor Wilkinson here left the meeting due to his disclosable pecuniary interest as set out at Minute CO52 above.)
In accordance with the Constitution, motions on notice must be signed by at least two Members and be about matters for which the Council has a responsibility or which affect the Melton Borough.
The following motion was proposed by Councillor Fisher :
Proposed closure of St Mary’s St
Mary's Birth Centre, Melton Mowbray
The Leicester,
Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group are proposing to close St
Mary’s Birth Centre and replace it with a Midwife led birth centre at the
Leicester General Hospital for a trial period of 12 months.
This current proposal needs to
provide more details on how local community based births, postnatal,
antenatal and other related services will be affected.
Recent Studies support the use
of smaller birthing centres where care is personalised to the patient as the
way forward. Concerns have also been raised regarding the capacity at Leicester
General Hospital and the ability to deal with the increased workload as a
result of these proposals. Careful consideration needs to be given to access,
travel time, public transport availability, parking and fuel expenses and the
environmental impact before a final decision is made.
In order to recognise the
concerns of the residents of the Melton Borough in relation to the proposed
closure of the St Mary’s Birth Centre the Council:
(1) Requests that the local National
Health Service and LLR CCG provide more information in relation to the
impact of the proposed closure on access, travel time, public transport,
parking, fuel expense and environmental impact and the steps that will be taken
to mitigate and monitor these impacts should the proposals go ahead.
(2) Requests that the local National Health Service and LLR CCG provide information in relation to the feasibility of the proposal that evidences and provides assurance regarding the way in which the new facilities in Leicester would serve the residents of Melton Mowbray better than the current established local service provided at St Mary’s.
He added that he had heard nothing but praise for everyone that had used the St Marys Birth Centre and it would be a short-sighted decision to close it.
Councillor Smedley
seconded the motion and stated that St Marys Birth Centre provides a valuable
service to residents across the Borough. During the consultation period she had
met with and heard stories of so many people that have relied on the St Marys
for support during pregnancy, childbirth and after care. The care offered is personalised with
midwives knowing their patients well and this ensures a high level of confidence
and satisfaction. She feared that proposed changes would have a negative impact
on all new families and especially those who are more vulnerable who would have
to suffer extra cost to travel for this essential service. She reported that
she had actively taken part in the
consultation and understood that those in the north and north east of
Leicestershire would be most affected and it was not good enough for Melton’s
residents. Also the Council needed to know how these proposals would affect
residents in terms of the climate change emergency and would they negate all
that the Council was trying to achieve by imposing travel costs and a negative
environmental impact for all who needed the service.
During debate the
following points were noted :
·
The
public response to the consultation had been tremendous
·
There
was support for all those involved in the campaign to save the unit including
Glynn Cartwright who had been promoting and fighting to save the service
·
There
was concern that if the unit was allowed to close, there would be no going back
·
City
hospitals such as at Leicester and Nottingham did not make good care, it was
the people that worked there that gave good care such as the service provided at
Melton
·
The
unit provided a much valued and personalised service to new mothers in the area
·
Due to
Melton’s growth and new house building programme, by 2036 there would be a 20 percent increase in demand
·
The MP
was involved in saving the birthing centre
·
Mistakes
of the recent past such as the closure of
the KE7 secondary school and subsequently a requirement for a new
secondary school must be avoided
·
Centralised
birthing units in the cities were not the way forward
·
The
proposal was to transfer the service to the Leicester General Hospital
initially for 12 months however it was felt there was a move to close St Mary’s
as soon as possible
·
Centralisation
of the service to Leicester was not efficient for patients and was too far away
for Melton’s residents in labour
·
The
figures presented in the consultation were out of date and should more recent
figures have been presented, they would show a more truthful picture
·
The
much needed service at Melton should be retained and invested in rather than
closed
·
Members
were supportive of the motion and thanked Councillors Fisher and Smedley for
bringing the motion and raising the community’s concerns
RESOLVED
In order to recognise the concerns of the residents of the Melton
Borough in relation to the proposed closure of the St Mary’s Birth Centre the
Council:
(1) requests that the local National Health Service and LLR
CCG provide more information in relation to the impact of the proposed
closure on access, travel time, public transport, parking, fuel expense and
environmental impact and the steps that will be taken to mitigate and monitor
these impacts should the proposals go ahead;
(2) requests that the local National Health Service and LLR CCG
provide information in relation to the feasibility of the proposal that evidences and provides
assurance regarding the way in which the new facilities in Leicester would
serve the residents of Melton Mowbray better than the current established local
service provided at St Mary’s.
(25 in favour, 2
abstentions)
(Councillor Wilkinson here re-entered the meeting.)