AN MP has spoken out about the threat to maternity services at Malton Hospital.

Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh said she has identified three key issues which urgently need to be addressed if midwives are to continue offering women the best possible care.

The maternity unit at Malton is currently under the threat of closure, following a public consultation by the local health trust about the care it offers. The Gazette & Herald's Birth Right campaign petition, signed by 2,000 readers and local residents who oppose the plans, was put forward as part of the counsultation.

Miss McIntosh said the first issue which needed to be addressed was the fact that the number of midwives had only increased by five per cent since 1997, despite the NHS budget roughly doubling.

She said: "Too little money has reached frontline services. In the last year the headcount number of midwives in the NHS actually fell. Without enough midwives, Labour will leave women facing a maternity lottery for the best support."

She said women should have a choice about where they give birth, and yet around 20 midwife-led units had closed with the Government insisting it was a matter for the local rather than national NHS.

Miss McIntosh added: "Thirdly, I would like to highlight the fact that the threat of closure hangs over not just midwife-led units and community birth centres, but also consultant units in hospitals facing restructuring. Before Christmas, a further 20 consultant-led units were identified as threatened with being either closed or downgraded. The maternity unit at Malton Hospital is one of these units and I strongly believe that we must support local services. Women are being put at risk and the Government has a responsibility to take steps to address the problem."