Ben Maguire slams maternity closure hitting North Cornwall families

For expectant mothers across North Cornwall, the nearest place to have a baby is currently over 50 miles away, and there’s still no date for when that will change.

‘Unacceptable’ according to North Cornwall’s MP

Ben Maguire, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall, has criticised the ongoing delay to reopening maternity services at North Devon District Hospital, calling the situation “completely unacceptable” for his constituents.

“Families across North Cornwall are being left facing severe disruption and anxiety at what should be an incredibly important time in their lives,” Ben said.

A closure with no end date

Maternity services at the hospital have been closed since 11 August, and no new reopening date has been confirmed. In that time, around 100 expectant mothers have already had to travel roughly 53 miles to Exeter, or further afield, to give birth.

MPs joining forces to push for a fix

Ben has been working alongside Ian Roome, the MP for the neighbouring North Devon constituency, to press for the service to be restored safely.

“I have been working alongside neighbouring constituency MP, Ian Roome, to push for this vital service to be restored safely, but patients and families cannot be left in limbo indefinitely like this,” Ben said. “The Trust needs to urgently get the support it needs to recruit the staff required and give expectant mothers some certainty.”

He added that he intends to keep the pressure on at Westminster over the NHS trust’s handling of the closure.

“We cannot, and will not, allow this temporary closure to go on like this. I will continue to raise this with Ministers in Parliament for these services to be reopened ASAP.”