Andrew Rosindell MP

Romford’s MP has vowed to watch changes to maternity services closely, ahead of Monday’s closure of the maternity unit at King George Hospital.

King George Hospital's labour unit has been under threat of closure for years

The board of NHS North East London and the City (NELC) made the final decision to stop all births at the Goodmayes hospital, at meeting in Ilford last week.

The closure means women will give birth at surrounding hospitals, including Queen’s, instead.

Andrew Rosindell has been a long term opponent of the plans.

He said: “Everybody I’ve spoken to is disappointed about the closure of services at King George. We can’t stop it closing now, but we can monitor the impact and if it does have a negative impact on Queen’s, I will not hesitate to speak out in Parliament about the health trust, if necessary.”

Dr Atul Aggarwal, chairman of the Havering clinical commissioning group, said: “In the past few months we’ve seen the opening of the Barking Birthing Centre and the Queen’s Birth Centre, providing more choice of birth setting for women with low-risk pregnancies.

“We have also increased the number of babies that can be born at Newham and Homerton hospitals. Further expansion of Whipps Cross and the Royal London will continue to provide more capacity in the future.”

The NHS is producing a guide to the changes to maternity services which will be available from GP surgeries next week.

See the related link, right, for more on the issue.