WHY Wyre Forest Birth Centre "must be made safe and reopened" is to be put in a letter to health chiefs by the district's MP.

Dr Richard Taylor said he and the patients' forum had received between 20 and 30 letters and phone calls following an impassioned appeal, last month, for support in the battle to see deliveries and post-natal services return to the birth centre.

However, the chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospital's NHS Trust, John Rostill, told the Shuttle/Times & News he did not consider this a significant number considering 200 babies were born each year at the birth centre.

Saying he had personally received two letters in support of reopening, he added: "I think it's reasonable to say that I remain unconvinced that there is any real measure of support for reopening the centre."

Dr Taylor said of the responses: "All except one have been to say 'for goodness sake, it's got to be reopened' and the reason people haven't been speaking up until now is that everyone assumed that it would be reopened after the recommendations of the inquiry had been implemented."

Adding the only letter against had been from one of the families who had lost a baby, he said: "They felt it shouldn't be opened unless safety measures were put in place for the babies and this is exactly what has to be done."

He said the decision to stop post-natal services at the facility at the end of this month, until a decision had been made on whether it should reopen for deliveries following a damning independent inquiry, had stirred up strong feelings.

"People are absolutely shocked that there is any thought of taking it away permanently.

"Again, it would be a tremendous blow for Wyre Forest and support a feeling we are expendable to keep the rest of the county health services going, which is exactly what happened with the hospital downgrading."

He added: "Now I've had a substantial response I'm going to write to the chief executives of the acute trust, primary care trust, strategic health authority and leaders of obstetrics and midwifery in Worcester and Kidderminster and make the arguments why the birth centre has to be made safe and reopened because other communities like ours have them provided perfectly safely."

Dr Taylor said Mr Rostill had implied any reopening of the centre would have to wait for national guidelines to be produced but the MP argued these were already available in the document Keeping the NHS Local.

l Readers can send their views on the birth centre to Patients' Forum, PO Box 4150, Kidderminster, DY10 3WW.