HOSPITAL bosses will appear before an NHS watchdog this morning to answer questions about the planned closure of all birthing services at Wycombe Hospital.

The Buckinghamshire County Council committee will demand answers on how staffing shortages led to the decision to close the midwife-led unit from August 1, for three months.

It comes after Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed it was proposing to close the Wycombe Birth Centre, first revealed in last week’s Free Press.

Doctor-led births were removed in October, despite an outcry.

Councillor Mike Appleyard, chairman of the BCC overview and scrutiny committee for public health, said: “I want to know how they got into this particular situation and what actions are being taken and whether services are still safe.”

Celina Eves, head of midwifery, and Audrey Warren, acting head of midwifery, will address the committee.

Hospital chiefs this week said ‘severe staff shortages’ meant the unit had to close to be ‘safe’.

They said they were short of 20 midwives because of ‘natural turnover’, staff not wishing to work at Stoke after the October change, maternity leave and long-term sickness.

Yet they said replacement staff had been appointed – but were delayed because of notice periods and the need for safety checks.

Safety concerns and higher costs ruled out using agency workers, they said.

Closure was the ‘least disruptive’ option – and they warned doing nothing would increase the risk of women, some in labour, transferring to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury.

The trust had previously warned the centre is at risk unless more mums use it, 450 a year, though official figures suggest this is presently about 360.

The BCC committee meets at 10am at South Bucks District Council, Oxford Road, Denham. The public are welcome to attend.

See our website for a full report later today and our Twitter page for live updates (see link below).

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