A birthing unit at County Hospital in Stafford will not reopen after NHS bosses approved its permanent closure.
The freestanding midwife led unit at County Hospital, along with a second unit at Samuel Johnson Community Hospital in Lichfield, has been temporarily suspended since the Covid 19 pandemic.
Plans to reopen the units were subsequently scrapped because of workforce challenges, and Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Integrated Care Board has now agreed that both should close permanently.
Board members were told the decision would provide a safer and more sustainable maternity service.
Before its temporary closure, the County Hospital unit handled an average of eight births a month, while the Samuel Johnson unit handled 18. Around 30 births a month is considered the minimum for a unit to be clinically and financially viable.
The units catered for low risk births and each would require at least 12 experienced midwives to provide safe staffing around the clock.
Chief nursing officer Vanessa Whatley told the board that reopening them would not be an efficient use of the available workforce.
She said
“The evidence leads to this permanent closure, which is the most sustainable and clinically appropriate option, while maintaining local antenatal and postnatal services and preserving choice throughout the pathway. Additional offers are there for low risk birthing options in the system.
“I’d like to emphasise that the key driver for the recommendation is the sustainability and safety of maternity services.”
All antenatal and postnatal services will continue at County Hospital, with no change to most services at Samuel Johnson.
A formal consultation on the future of the two units was carried out in 2025. Further consultation took place earlier this year relating specifically to the proposed permanent closure of the Glucose Tolerance Test and Anti D immunoglobulin clinics at Samuel Johnson.
Concerns raised during consultation included the additional travel involved for patients and the possible effect on neighbouring hospitals.
The board was told that the travel impact would be “minimal” and that both Royal Stoke University Hospital and Queen’s Hospital in Burton had sufficient capacity for low-level midwife-led births.
Members were also told that no viable alternatives to permanent closure had been identified through the consultation.
ICB chief executive Simon Whitehouse said
“This is fundamentally about a clinically safe model of care. The clinical evidence as set out in the business case is really clear.
“We accept and acknowledge that not everybody is likely to be happy with the outcome. But if we look at this from the perspective of safety for mums and babies, I think the business case is really clear and the engagement has been comprehensive.”
