Furness General maternity unit staffing crisis resolved

Services were due to move from 5 February

Staffing problems have been resolved at a troubled maternity unit in Cumbria on the day it was to close temporarily.

All special care baby unit and consultant-led maternity services at Furness General Hospital were due to move to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

The health trust said the temporary transfer was needed because of high levels of staff sickness.

But after a day of negotiations with other health organisations, staff were found to keep services in Barrow.

Cumbria Police are currently investigating the deaths of a number of babies at the unit, and a heath trust spokesman said sickness levels had risen since the inquiry began.

Sir David Henshaw, interim chair at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The trust and the wider NHS have been working hard and have pulled together to assist with the staffing issues in the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Furness General Hospital.

"Both SCBU and consultant-led maternity services are running as before and women should attend as previously advised."