Initial feedback on plans to close a North London maternity ward suggests most of the public and local NHS staff oppose the plans. 

NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board, which covers Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington, has proposed reducing the number of its hospital maternity units across the boroughs from five to four.

A public consultation on the proposal ran from December to March, with staff and users asked to give feedback on closing the maternity ward at Royal Free Hospital in Camden, the board’s preferred choice, or closing the unit at Whittington Hospital in Islington.

Services at Barnet Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital in Edmonton, and University College Hospital, would be retained and invested in “significantly”.

The results of the consultation were discussed at a joint health overview and scrutiny committee meeting at Camden Town Hall on July 25.

Of those surveyed, 67% agreed that North London maternity services faced “challenges”, but less than half of NHS staff agreed with consolidating maternity and neonatal services from five to four sites, while only 25% of users, parents, and carers welcomed the move.

Concerns were raised around the increased pressure consolidation would cause, the disruption to effective working relationships, and the impact on capacity, staffing, and quality of care.

There were also travel concerns, including longer travel times for people near the closed ward, unreliable public transport, and increased congestion and travel costs. 

Cllr Matt White, a Haringey councillor, asked the NHS health bosses present why – given the amount of reviews and consultations going back to 2021 – the proposals were so unfavourably received.

Cllr White asked: “How is it possible you can start with a blank page, ask people what they want, come up with this answer, propose it, and they say that’s not the answer we want?”

Sarah Mansuralli, the board's chief strategy and population health officer, referred to “declining birth rates”, increasingly complex care needs, and keeping staff “skilled up”. 

She said: “I think it’s quite an emotive subject, nobody wants to see services close.

“Equally, what the consultation material really helped the public, staff, and different communities understand is that there is a very good rationale and evidence base for the proposals.”

Levels of NHS neonatal care are rated as basic care, level one; specialty care, level two; and subspecialty care, level three. The board proposes a care model that “ensures all NCL sites offer the same minimum level of neonatal care” with a level two rating. Ms Mansuralli said this could not be achieved across the five existing neonatal sites, only four. 

She said: “When we then compare it, we all want to have level two units, we don’t want to close any services to achieve that. One of the things we looked at was could we offer level two care if we kept all five units open – the answer to that was, clearly it was not feasible or deliverable.”

The consultation also asked for feedback on two other proposals; closing the birth suites at Edgware Community Hospital, but retaining the antenatal and postnatal services; and consolidating surgery for young children at two centres of expertise. 

In terms of the maternity ward plans, health bosses said the feedback would be used to “inform the next steps of the process”.

A decision will not be confirmed until January.