MP launches Helme Chase petition - Bring back 24 hr service!
South Lakes MP Tim Farron has today launched a petition to bring back 24 hour maternity care to the Helme Chase unit at Westmorland General Hospital.
Until recently the unit was staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Now midwives are on call from home overnight and at weekends. Tim has today reiterated his call for hospital bosses to publicly confirm that changes to staffing at the unit are only temporary, but is still waiting for the hospitals trust to clarify that this is a temporary measure. He wrote to the trust in December and has so far not received a reply.
The petition states: "We, the undersigned, call on the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust to reinstate Helme Chase as a staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week maternity unit at Westmorland General. Now midwives are on call from home overnight and at weekends. We call for hospital bosses to publicly confirm that changes to staffing at Kendal's Helme Chase maternity unit are only temporary and to bring back 24 hour maternity services."
Tim said: "The public response to the Helme Chase campaign has been brilliant. Local people have been coming up to me asking what they can do to support it, so I've launched this petition to show the trust that they must think again about these plans.
"The staff at Helme Chase, like all the other staff who care for people at Westmorland General, are fantastic and I cannot praise them highly enough.
"Local families, mums to be and health professionals are all worried about this plan - all we are asking is for the trust to consult local people and to review this decision. This is no reason why they should not do this. I again urge them to do that as soon as possible. I will keep fighting for local families who want to be able to have a safe birth at Westmorland General."
The petition to bring back 24 hour maternity services to Helme Chase can be found here: http://timfarron.co.uk/en/petition/helme-chase-petition-bring-back-24-hr-service