THE MOTHER of a baby born recently at Malton Hospital has added her weight to the campaign to save the town's maternity unit.

Charlotte Harrison from Weaverthorpe gave birth to little Charlie last month - her second child to arrive into the world at the local facility.

NHS Trust officials from Scarborough are hoping to axe all births at the homely wing and now the decision rests with the Government's health minister Alan Johnson.

Last week the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, which probes changes made to the health service, visited Malton to speak to patients and staff as part of the investigation into the future of the unit.

The 34-year-old mum joined midwives, town officials and fellow new mothers to speak out againsat the closure plan.

Charlotte said: "I had my first baby at Malton Hospital and I never thought I would be lucky enough to have both my children there.

"You have one-to-one care in Malton and your midwife is with you from the start until the delivery. It's like being in a hotel and with it being so relaxed it makes the birth a lot easier.

"I could not have asked for anything better and I told the delegation and I just hope they took on board how excellent Malton really is."

At a board meeting of the NHS trust last year, it was agreed to give mothers in the area the option to give birth at home or travel to Scarborough or York hospitals.

In 2004 there were 124 births in Malton hospital while last year there were just 25, sparking claims that the trust is running the unit down.

Members of the IRP will give their findings to the Government on June 30 and then a final verdict will be delivered.

Heading the 15-strong panel, Gina Tiller, tried to play down fears that the visit was to simply appear to be listening to the local community.

The former nurse said: "Our remit is to find out what will be a safe and sustainable service for patients. And that will be in the long term, not what is best for the next 12 months."

She added: "This is certainly not a cosmetic exercise. We would not waste our time let alone the time of everybody we speak to and all those who would be affected by the decision if it was cosmetic. We will look at all the evidence before delivering safe and sustainable services for patients."

Meanwhile campaigner for the hospital County Coun John Blackie has claimed there is "cause for optimism" that the decision to close the maternity unit could be reversed.

Coun Blackie, chairman of the county council's health scrutiny committee, told members that the strength of opposition had shown that people wanted to retain the maternity units and that the closure decision by the local NHS Trust was out of line with public opinion.

Coun Blackie said he had been "very impressed" when he met the IRP team. "They were keen to explore the public concerns and were impressed with the way people had voted with their feet to attend the meetings we held."

He added: "I am sure it will be a thorough investigation," and said he believed the closure decision was "not a fait accompli".

In their report to Mr Johnson, the scrunity committee said mothers were not being given the level of choice the Department of Health intended.

Coun Blackie said: "The public was right to consider a birth at a midwife-led maternity unit at their local community hospital safer than a birth at home."

There was a "powerful wave" of local concern that the closure of the three maternity units were "just another in a long running series of cutbacks and curtailments in services at their treasured community hospitals."