Reassurances that Worthing Hospital maternity services will continue
They had been thought to be under threat due to staff shortages
The NHS trust running Worthing Hospital has denied reports that maternity services are at risk, amid a national shortage of midwives and neonatal nurses.
The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust says issues with high vacancy rates have been addressed.
Midwives are reassuring mums-to-be that they can have their babies there as planned over the summer.
An increase in sickness and other absence over the summer months meant the Trust needed to review and ensure enough specialist staff were available to keep maternity services safe during this period.
In a statement, the Trust said removing maternity services from the site permanently was 'never under consideration' and that the threat of a temporary suspension has now been resolved.
Claire Hunt, Worthing Hospital’s Director of Nursing for Children and Gynaecology, said:
“Thanks to our neonatal and maternity colleagues’ willingness to go the extra mile for the people they care for, all our families can be reassured that they will be able to have their babies at Worthing over the coming months and that we will look after them as we normally would.”