Eastbourne MP issues call to bring full maternity back to DGH
Eastbourne MP Josh Babarinde has called for a return of full maternity services to Eastbourne District General Hospital (DGH).
Its maternity department was stripped of its consulted-led unit in 2013 after East Sussex NHS Trust opted to single-site these services at The Conquest Hospital in Hastings, 20 miles away.
The DGH retains a high-quality Midwifery Unit that facilitates the least complex births, which reopened in September 2024 after closing in December 2023 following ‘staffing challenges’.
The closure had impacted around three to four births a week, the trust confirmed, but the unit remained open for outpatient antenatal and postnatal services.
Mr Babarinde has also called for an acceleration in the Labour Government’s plans to rebuild the DGH, which, according to the MP, currently wouldn’t be set to be completed until 2041 following delays.
He said: "I know how important the DGH is to our town and what it would mean for families and local growth if full maternity services were returned”.
“We’re one of the fastest growing resorts in the UK, we’re one of the largest towns without a full maternity unit, and I’m ambitious about making the case to bring these services back - even if it takes decades of campaigning.
“I was proud to invite DGH campaigner Liz Walke, who I’ve known since I was a child, to Parliament for the debate and to pay tribute to her longstanding hospital activism on the official record.”
A spokesperson for East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said: “The trust currently operates a single-site model for obstetric-led (doctor-led) maternity services based at Conquest Hospital in Hastings. Maternity units of this type that see small numbers of births present an increased risk of harm to women giving birth and, following a full public consultation, more than ten years ago we moved to a single site obstetric-led model to ensure we could deliver the safest possible care to women across East Sussex when they give birth, including those living in Eastbourne.
"Our maternity services across both our sites are rated as ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission, a rating that reflects the high quality care provided by this model and which we do not wish to compromise.
“We are proud that, following the hard work of our maternity team last year, we have been able to continue to provide maternity services at Eastbourne for low-risk births in our midwife-led unit, as well as home births and routine midwifery care in hospital and at home for women living in the area.
“While we always appreciate support and suggestions from our local communities to improve our services, we will not compromise on the safety of our maternity services and the safety of the women who use them”.