Huddersfield birth centre reopen plan off the table

NHS TRUST SAY THEY DON'T HAVE THE STAFF CAPACITY TO OPERATE THE 'LOW-RISK' FACILITY

- By ABIGAIL MARLOW Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS to reopen Huddersfield's Birth Centre are currently off the table due to capacity issues.

The facility first closed its doors in March 2020 as a “temporary” measure when the pandemic took hold.

Now, more than five years later, the centre is yet to be brought back into use, and this cannot be considered at the moment, according to senior NHS staff.

At a meeting in March, health bosses had been unable to commit to the site reopening within three years. Director of midwifery at the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT), Gemma Puckett, said a review of the ongoing suspension of maternity care at Huddersfield was due to take place in April, which would take into account the demographic and complexity of the population, and determine how many women are eligible to use a “low-risk” birth centre.