by Graham Tutthill

gtutthill@thekmgroup.co.uk

Mothers-to-be will not be able to give birth at Dover's Buckland Hospital, once a new unit is opened at Margate. But they will still be able to access maternity services there.

This is one of the conclusions of a three-month review by health bosses into maternity care across East Kent.

They say mothers-to-be will benefit from the changes and that most people wanted maternity services to be concentrated at Ashford and Margate.

During the consultation more than 400 patients, parents, members of the public, community groups, midwives and doctors gave their views.

Births at Dover will continue until the new unit at Margate is open - probably in September - and for a while they will operate together.

The review has been conducted by the NHS Kent and Medway Cluster Board, who say the option they have chosen offers the best quality of care for all mothers and babies, and a safe, sustainable service for the future.

This means the NHS will invest more than £700,000 over the next year to employ 30 midwives and midwifery staff at Ashford and Margate to ensure every woman receives one-to-one care from a midwife in active labour.

Community teams will continue to be based at maternity centres in Dover and Canterbury providing access to all the current day and community services.

This includes midwife and consultant-led clinics, parent education classes, postnatal breastfeeding help and advice.

Full story in next week’s Dover Mercury.