HEALTH chiefs have warned that the maternity unit at Guisborough General Hospital could close because of financial constraints.

South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust owes £31m, having borrowed the money from the strategic health authority and local primary care trusts to balance its books in recent years.

The cash crisis means the trust is having to review its services in a bid to make savings, and Guisborough maternity ward is now under threat.

Chief executive Simon Pleydell said: "It is widely known that we are in a very challenging financial situation.

"We need to look at the service we provide at Guisborough, in addition to a wide range of other areas across the trust."

Mr Pleydell said a fall in the number of births at the unit was having a marked effect on the ward's cost effectiveness.

Last year there were 336 East Cleveland women whose pregnancies and labours were seen to be low risk, but only 104 had their deliveries in the unit.

Mr Pleydell said more expectant mothers could be choosing the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, because it had hi-tech support at hand, should they need it.

He said: "We are concerned about a falling number of births in Guisborough and we wonder about how justifiable it is to have a unit, sometimes standing empty, where a delivery can cost up to four times as much as a delivery at James Cook."

Coun Bill Clarke, a town and borough councillor for Guisborough, said the prospect of the unit closing one year after it reopened was disgraceful.

"The fact that we could lose the maternity ward because of somebody's negligence at the South Tees trust cannot be right. If this happens it's a damned disgrace.

"Cost effective or not, what price do you put on health and the fact that it's on people's doorstep? Surely there should be a choice."

Mr Pleydell said no decisions had been made about the unit. "We are working closely with our colleagues at Langbaurgh Primary Care Trust because we want to enter into an open and honest debate about the unit with the local authority and, most importantly, women who are planning a family.

"We fully appreciate that local people have a great deal of affection for the unit, as we do ourselves.

"I am extremely proud of the staff there who have done a fantastic job in advertising the unit to expectant mothers and providing other services, such as ante-natal care, to improve the viability of the unit.

"I am looking forward to discussions with a range of people about the unit and its future. I think this is the only way we can get into the detail, listen to people's views and come to some decisions which will be in the interests of mothers in East Cleveland, while addressing our financial situation."

Redcar and Cleveland health scrutiny committee was told of the problem as part of a regular report by the trust. Coun Valerie Halton, cabinet member for health, said: "I am aware that this is one of a range of cost-cutting measures being considered to alleviate the trust's financial difficulties.

"When the unit was closed because of a shortage of midwives, the council, with everyone in the community, worked tirelessly to secure its future and a commitment by the trust to maintain the facility.

"Now, none of us can have anything but very real concerns that the unit is again at risk, probably a greater risk than it was before.

"We must accept that there will be financial arguments for and against the unit's closure. But from our point of view, closure would represent a terrible decision for our community.

"We will examine all the issues about demand and usage alongside those of cost.

"We will call for real scrutiny on any closure option and would urge the trust to be as frank and open with the public as they can, because it will not be easy to win an argument that recommends closure.