Latest news with #Campaigners
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Protest against permanent closure of birthing unit
Residents from Lichfield took part in a walking protest to oppose the permanent closure of a maternity unit in Staffordshire. Campaigners said that "mothers need a real choice" and closing the birthing unit at Samuel Johnson Community Hospital for good would take away options for local families. Families took part in a pram push on Saturday after a public consultation was launched by the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB) last month. The freestanding midwife-led birthing units (FMBUs) at Samuel Johnson and County Hospital in Stafford were temporarily stopped due to the pandemic - the body is gathering views on whether they should reopen. Pregnant mothers have still been able to attend the hospitals for antenatal and postnatal appointments but have been unable to give birth at the units. While many have been waiting for the midwife-led services to resume, the ICB said the viability of the units was being questioned. Local residents, families who had used the maternity units in the past and pregnant mothers all gathered in the pouring rain in protest as they walked from Lichfield guildhall to Samuel Johnson. Hannah Weaver, who gave birth at the Lichfield unit before the pandemic, told the BBC her experience there was "empowering". She said: "I had an extremely positive and extremely empowering experience [at Samuel Johnson]. "I think it's important women have a choice about where they want to give birth, and that choice is being taken away from the residents of Lichfield. "The pram push is to show people we are against the proposal for closure and that we really make sure we keep safe births in Lichfield where there's choice. "That's the main thing - maternity choice." If services at the facility do not resume, the closest birthing unit for expectant mothers in Lichfield is at Queen's Hospital, in Burton. Speaking on the original decision to close the services, the ICB said it was made to ensure there was enough staff for the maternity departments at Royal Stoke University Hospital and Queen's Hospital in Burton-upon-Trent. Heather Johnstone, chief nursing and therapies officer, told the BBC if services were to resume, the midwives staffing the units would be taken away from the county's busiest hospitals. She said: "The units have been shut for five years, so the most recent data we have is from 2020. "There were around 18 births a month, so 220 births a year. It requires a lot of midwifery staffing to safely staff that unit. "It's taking those midwives away from facilities where they could be providing care to a broader range of people." The public consultation will run until 3 August and people have been urged to share their views on the ICB's website. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. More on this story Birthing unit closures could be made permanent Related internet links Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB Samuel Johnson Community Hospital
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Investing in destruction': campaigners attack plans to fill Yorkshire tunnel with concrete
Campaigners hoping to convert a disused railway line into England's longest cycle and pedestrian tunnel are challenging a government decision to fill much of the historic structure with concrete. Earlier this month ministers decided to award several million pounds to permanently shutter the Queensbury tunnel built in the 1870s for a railway between Halifax and Keighley in West Yorkshire, despite spending £7.2m to shore up the structure less than four years ago. The government has agreed to fund plans to infill the tunnel for safety reasons, by the roads agency, National Highways, (NH) which is responsible for maintaining the historic railway estate. The decision comes after the agency was widely criticised for 'cultural vandalism' over the infilling of Victorian bridges on the railway estate. In 2023 it was forced to reverse burying in concrete a Victorian bridge in Great Musgrave, Cumbria on the route of a scheme to join two heritage railway lines. The mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, who backed calls to reopen the 1.4 mile tunnel which was closed to railway in 1956, has expressed disappointment at the government's decision. In 2021, while standing at the entrance of the tunnel, she described plans for a subterrain cycle path linking Bradford and Keighley to Halifax as a 'great facility for our community.' Campaigners accused the government of 'investing in destruction' and ignoring the views of 8,000 planning objections to the plan to infill the tunnel. They are due to meet Lilian Greenwood, the minister for the future of roads, next week to urge her to reverse the decision. In a letter to campaigners, Greenwood said converting the tunnel for cycling would be too costly in 'the challenging fiscal environment' and that 'safety risks need to be addressed.' Today we welcomed West Yorkshire mayoral candidate @TracyBrabin and Bradford South MP @JudithCummins to the tunnel to discuss the benefits of a #BradfordHalifaxGreenway with a tourist spur to Haworth/ we're serious about #ActiveTravel, we have to make this happen. NH's contractors estimate it would cost £26.4m to convert the tunnel. But campaigners have dismissed this figure as 'gold-plated' and claim the tunnel could be brought back into use as a greenway for only £13.7m – not much more than the £7.2m spent to shore it up from 2018 to 2021 including at least £3.3m now required to infill the structure. They also point to a study by the charity Sustrans published earlier this year which found the proposed route would generate £3 in social, economic and tourism benefits for every £1 spent on it. Norah McWilliam, the leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: 'The government is making and investment in destruction to satisfy the needs of a roads body that only cares about its own narrow interests. Community aspirations to bring positive benefits from our fabulous historic asset mean nothing to these spreadsheet shufflers.' She added: 'These new millions and the seven lost in a black hole four years ago could have paid for the tunnel's repair, safeguarding it for a role at the heart of an inspiring and sustainable active travel network - something Bradford and West Yorkshire could be proud of.' Graeme Bickerdike, the engineering coordinator for the society, said: 'The minister claims that her decision is based on a 'full view of the facts', but the evidence seems to have come exclusively from National Highways which has a proven track record for exaggerating risk, misrepresenting condition evidence and frittering away public funds. 'There is no justification for another costly tunnel intervention at this time as the 2018-21 works have reduced what was already a low risk profile.' Brabin said she shared the disappointment of campaigners, but said she understood the government's decision. She said: 'To ensure everyone's safety the government had to act quickly to secure the site, and the realities of public finances meant a difficult decision needed to be made. 'We remain committed to helping support alternative routes for walking, wheeling and cycling between Bradford and Calderdale.'
