Dewsbury birthing centre reopens after two-year closure

The Dewsbury centre closed its doors due to trouble recruiting and retaining staff

Babies are set to be born in Kirklees for the first time in almost two years with the reopening of a birth centre.

Staff shortages had prevented the reopening of Dewsbury's Bronte Birth Centre which closed in May 2022.

However, the centre at Dewsbury and District Hospital became operational again on Monday.

Meanwhile, Huddersfield's Birth Centre, which has been shut since 2020, will not open until August at the earliest, health bosses have said.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, services at the Huddersfield centre were suspended in March 2020 due to Covid pressures, but staffing issues have since prevented it being reopened.

A meeting of Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee last month was told the site would remain "temporarily suspended".

The meeting was assured the Dewsbury centre was there to serve women across the borough.

It was told that while Huddersfield Birth Centre remained closed, the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust offered midwife-led care at Calderdale Royal Hospital.

There was also the option of giving birth at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, bosses said.

Dr Anne-Marie Henshaw, Director of Midwifery and Women's Health at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said they were "delighted" to have reopened the Dewsbury centre.

"Bronte Birth Centre is a free standing, midwife-led facility most suitable for women at low risk of complication during childbirth.

"We look forward to welcoming our local families and to continuing to support high quality, safe and personalised maternity care."