"Outrage hardly begins to describe my reaction to the claims made by the head of maternity and lead matron in last week's Gazette & Herald.

Apparently "services modernise and adapt, which is something that people have to accept in every industry."

By all means modernise and adapt, but since when, exactly, has giving birth been an industry? The label reflects a clinical approach in the very worst sense of the word.

It is a view that goes against everything Malton Maternity Unit stands for - warmth, caring and being at the heart of the community.

And I'd have a lot more faith in the "reassurances" if they came from the front line midwives doing the deliveries, being allowed to speak without fear of reprisal.

Then there was the assertion that mothers will have the same level of care even if Malton Maternity Unit closes. No, they won't.

Or are we really going to see midwives lugging around a birthing pool, so highly-valued by many mums, as well as the gas and air? Thought not.

Best of all - or more accurately the worst - was the claim that women are voting with their feet and fewer are choosing Malton maternity wing.

The cheek is breathtaking. The reduction is the direct result of pressure being applied to limit the choices of mums, and having them on their way home within "two to six hours" of the birth.

This is despite a guarantee given that women have the right to stay overnight in the maternity wing should they wish to do so.

It is just part of the continuing efforts to make it increasingly difficult for mums to have their baby at Malton Maternity Unit.

As for there being "no more medical back up at home than in hospital," that's a curious view of its doctors and nurses.

Apparently, though, it is "just about making the service more efficient." Strange that, I thought it was just about saving money. What the authorities really need to do save is Malton Maternity Unit."

A letter from Coun Howard Keal, who represents Norton East on Ryedale District Council and is charman of the planning committee