WHILE the future of Malton maternity unit hangs in the balance, NHS bosses still don't have enough midwives to deliver babies at the hospital.

The consultation period looking at the long-term role of the wing has finished and Scarborough NHS Trust bosses insist the sudden closure is a temporary measure.

Campaigners are angry that deliveries have already been axed due to 'staff sickness' and they fear the unit has already been closed through the back door.

NHS bosses have always insisted their plans to have all future births at Scarborough hospital is for the 'safety' of women and denied they are trying to save money. The trust is in debt to the tune of £7.2 million.

A spokeswoman for the trust, Gilly Collinson, said Malton maternity unit was closed for deliveries earlier this month but gave no indication when it will be re-opened.

The situation was revealed when a member of the public spoke out at a meeting, leaving red-faced health chiefs explaining why the situation was kept under wraps.

Gilly Collinson said: "Malton hospital has been affected by particularly high levels of sickness in recent weeks.

"One of our Scarborough-based midwives is supporting Malton hospital so we can still maintain ante-natal and post-natal services.

"We are hoping that we will soon be able to resume deliveries over the weekends when midwives don't have the demands of clinics and other work during the week. The situation is being reviewed on a weekly basis."

NHS bosses will announce their decision on the future of local maternity services at the beginning of next month after reviewing the opinions of mothers, healthcare professionals and the public during the three-month long consultation.

Members of the influential North Yorkshire County Council's scrutiny of health committee have vowed to use their power to refer the matter to the Secretary of State if they don't follow their recommendation to retain the status quo of maternity services at Malton hospital.

Ryedale councillor John Raper, who sits on this panel, is outraged that NHS trust chiefs kept them in the dark over the suspension of deliveries at Malton.

He said: "We have since learned that a mother from Pickering was forced to have her baby in the back seat of her car because Malton hospital was closed.

"This state of affairs is unacceptable and the safety of mothers has not been taken into consideration.

"The timing of this was crass and in my opinion Malton maternity unit should be reopened immediately."

Ryedale MP John Greenway has also backed the Gazette & Herald's Birth Right campaign and in a hard-hitting letter to Ian McInnes, chief executive of the Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, he says that for many mums-to-be, the long distance from remote parts of Ryedale to Scarborough or York hospitals is out of the question.

He said: "The plain fact is that a hospital maternity unit is likely to provide a much more appropriate and comfortable environment.

"There are many reasons why a home birth would not be suitable for a great many expectant mothers, particularly where there are already other young children in the home with no other family members able to look after them."

Campaigning from the start was Malton mayor Jane Ford, who has been passionate in her support for women who want the choice to be able to have their babies locally.

She added: "After all the meetings I have attended I really do not believe that the health bosses have listened to a word we have said.

"All the people I have spoken to want to have their babies in Malton and they should take notice of the people they provide a service for.

"It's been a kick in the teeth for them to close the unit already - this consultation has been nothing but an empty public relations exercise designed to win us round."