A COUPLE have criticised plans to close a maternity unit after their daughter was born in a hospital car park because of a lack of midwives.

Sally West had booked into Malton Hospital, in North Yorkshire, for the birth of her daughter, Phoebe. But when she went into labour, she was told the hospital did not have enough staff to deliver the child.

Ms West, 36, from Malton, and her partner, 58-year-old Clive Milson, were told to call 999 for an ambulance and go instead to Scarborough Hospital.

When the ambulance arrived, Ms West was on the point of giving birth and Phoebe was delivered by paramedics in the hospital car park at Scarborough because there was no time to take her inside.

Last month, Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, which runs the maternity unit at Malton, announced plans to axe deliveries there and open a modern, fully equipped "home from home" unit at Scarborough. They said this would result in a more central and better midwife-led service.

Mr Milson said: "We are thanking our lucky stars that our little girl was delivered safe and well, even if it was in the back of an ambulance.

"I have nothing but praise for the paramedic crew who, despite being overstretched, dealt with the birth admirably.

"I'm speaking out because others might not be as fortunate - and all for the sake of saving money. They are simply gambling with people's lives."

Mr Milson has three grown-up daughters, two of them born at Malton Hospital, from a previous relationship and a three-and-a-half-year-old son, Sam, with Ms West.

He said: "They have excellent facilities at the local maternity unit. What's the point in travelling miles away to have a baby when you can have it in your home town?

"The vast amount of money being pumped into the NHS seems to be swallowed by management and only a trickle filters through to the grassroots. Malton maternity unit should not be closed. If anything, the Government should be pumping more money into local services."

Ms West said: "I really wanted to have my baby at Malton because it's so homely there and it's my home town hospital. I don't see why it should close. It's a perfect little facility for local mums."

NHS Trust spokeswoman Gilly Collinson said it was difficult to maintain staffing levels in the Malton unit. She said: "It only takes one or two midwives to be off and it makes a real difference.

"We are glad that baby arrived safely, but sorry that staffing levels didn't enable the birth to take place at Malton.

"Unfortunately, babies do sometimes arrive quicker than anticipated, but we are glad this story did have a happy ending."