Maternity unit re-opens for births

An East Sussex maternity unit which closed in December 2023 has re-opened for births.

The Eastbourne Maternity Unit (EMU) previously had to close due to "staffing challenges".

Patients were either able to have their birth at home or at the closest available maternity unit for expectant mothers in Hastings, approximately 16 miles (25.7km) away.

The East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (ESHT) said the opening will allow staff to "implement a new way of delivering maternity care in Eastbourne".

The Eastbourne Maternity Unit delivers on average around three babies per week.

The closure to births was twice extended, first in December and also in February.

The trust said the unit had been open throughout 2024 for pre- and post-natal care.

It also said its maternity unit at the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards, and its home birth service had continued to deliver births throughout the time services were suspended at the EMU.

Josh Babarinde, Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne, said the reopening was a success for the town.

"Local mums should be able to give birth in Eastbourne," he said.

"We cannot have health inequalities worsen ... we need people in Eastbourne to have the best access to care possible, that includes our maternity unit."

He added that he had spoken to hospital managers to ask what they wanted from government to keep the unit sustainable.

A trust spokesperson said its midwives and maternity staff were committed to providing high quality, safe maternity services.

They said: "Since April, these colleagues have been working to implement a new way of delivering maternity care in Eastbourne."

It added that not only would this allow it to resume births at the EMU, but also "gives us the opportunity to provide safer, more joined up maternity care throughout pregnancy, delivery and afterwards.

“This achievement has been driven by our maternity team over the last few months, and we know that their hard work is deeply appreciated by our local community."

The new way of working, designed by the maternity team, "will see one team of midwives delivering community midwifery, home births and births at EMU."

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