THE axe has finally fallen on a North-East maternity unit despite a long running campaign to keep the vital service alive.
Langbaurgh Primary Care Trust (PCT) first sounded the alarm bells in June last year after discovering that only one in eight eligible births were taking place in the Guisborough hospital.
A 13-week consultation process revealed the dwindling numbers were put down to the fact that the vast majority of mums-to-be prefer to deliver their babies in the more modern unit at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, citing pain-relief and perceived risk factors as their main reasons.
Langbaurgh PCT Chief Executive, Jon Chadwick, said: "This is the hardest decision the PCT has had to make to date, and one we have not taken lightly or rashly. We are committed to investing money in new services for patients, such as new drugs for cancer.
"If we are to provide the best possible treatments, we must secure value for money. This means making hard choices."
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