Helme Chase Maternity Unit

In the House of Commons, a minister has presented a petition on behalf of 2,200 of their constituents regarding the temporary closure of the Helme Chase maternity unit at Westmorland General Hospital. The minister stated that this is the third such temporary closure in the past five years, and over the past 20 years, the number of births at Helme Chase has seen a 90% reduction due to the steady erosion of this vital and much-loved unit. The minister expressed the determination to reverse this trend and see a renewed, properly resourced, and safe maternity unit for the mothers and babies of Westmorland. The petition declares that the Helme Chase Maternity Unit has been underfunded by the Morecambe Bay NHS Hospitals Trust, and that responsibility for this falls upon the previous Conservative government's cuts to rural health services. The petition further notes that sufficient money and resources from the government to fully staff Helme Chase would stop the threat of permanent closure to this local maternity unit. The petitioners, therefore, request that the House of Commons urge the government to consider the resource needs of the Helme Chase Maternity Unit when providing funding to the Morecambe Bay NHS Hospitals Trust.