A PROPOSAL to cut the overnight stay facility at the maternity unit in Okehampton Hospital has prompted concerns from mothers in and around the town.

They told health officials at a meeting in the town last Thursday that if the move took place some kind of alternative support system needed to be created.

The proposed changes would see the unit at Okehampton Hospital fully staffed every day from 8am until 8pm, with midwife on-call arrangements out of hours.

It is hoped it will reduce midwives' caseloads, so they have more time to spend with mothers, particularly those who are vulnerable.

But Okehampton resident Gaynor Davey said mothers would not feel comfortable with the new system: 'If you are awake at 2am and your baby won't feed, the thought of calling somebody you know is going to be in bed asleep, is not something we feel comfortable doing — even though we know they are on call.

'If we were in a hospital setting we'd have no problem ringing the bell for help.'

Mrs Davey, 38, who has a week old son and a daughter, aged 3, said she felt NHS Devon needed to give something back, if such an important facility was to be taken away.

'I can understand about midwifes using their time properly, but if the unit is going to be closed at night times it needs to be replaced with something else.

'There needs to be the possibility of having scans at Okehampton, a visiting consultant or they should set up breast feeding and post-natal depression support groups, like a drop-in clinic.

'The other thing I am concerned about is mothers who have caesarians.

'If the option to come back to a nice community hospital where it's quiet and you get to bond with your child and heal, is going to be taken away, then it needs to be replaced with a service at Exeter, with a quiet ward where new mums can do just that.'

Mrs Davey said the system needed to be thought through properly before any decisions are made.

'If this goes ahead and if there's no unit available, I feel the number of breast feeding mums will decline and it wouldn't surprise me if post-natal depression numbers increase.'

Another mother, Imogen O'Reilly, said: 'The support we receive in the first and second days is the most important.

'I don't want to have to worry if I will be waiting 20 minutes or two hours for a midwife to come out and help me with my baby who needs to latch on straight away.'

And new mother, Sally Edgeway, said: 'I can see that the changes are meant to improve the service, but the reality of it is very different.

'When you are sitting with a screaming baby, you need to know someone is already there.

'The last thing you want to do is pick up the phone, that's why being in the hospital makes it so much easier for mums to cope.'

Health officials from NHS Devon were joined by representatives from Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital at the meeting held in the Charter Hall.

Assistant director of strategic commissioning at NHS Devon Jayne Carroll said the aim was to offer support on the needs of individual mothers and their babies.

She said: 'At the heart of what we are trying to achieve is the relationship between midwife and mother, and shared decisions are of absolute importance in this.

'It is about midwives supporting women in their own homes, in GP surgeries and children's centres as well as in birthing units — with ante-natal care, birth and post-natal care being developed around women.'

She said NHS Devon also wanted to strengthen community services to provide more support to women at home, in clinics and other community settings.

'We want to enable women to return home sooner and create a service targeted to help people who need help most, for example younger women and women with mental health issues.

'We are trying to achieve and increase our services to offer more choice — we want to meet people's needs.'

Devon County Cllr and vice-chairman of health scrutiny for adults health Debo Sellis said: 'I think that whenever change occurs people can be very suspicious, unsure and confused.

'When you are expecting a baby you feel bewildered.

'Given the fact that there have been many rumors going around, I think it's really important that mums and the community at large are able to engage with the NHS Devon commiss-ioners and the head of the midwifery services, who have the experience to make informed decisions.'

Anyone who was unable to attend the meeting and who wants to contribute to the debate, can pick up a maternity proposal booklet at Okehampton Hospital or email their comments to [email protected]">[email protected] before Monday, September 6. For more details visit http://www.devonpct.nhs.uk">www.devonpct.nhs.uk

NHS Devon board will come to a decision in September. The proposed changes also concern the hospitals at Honiton and Tiverton.