POST-natal care at Tiverton Hospital could be axed following an announcement that management of maternity services will be taken over by the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital.

The news comes a year after concerned mums and mums-to-be were told there was no threat to the continuation of the service in the town.

Mothers have raised concerns that changes to the way maternity services are managed could mean that the unit will be open for deliveries only, with midwives on call and most new mothers returning home the same day.

However, health bosses are insisting the changes, which are due to come into force from April 1, will boost the number of women giving birth in Tiverton and create greater flexibility among midwives.

Kate Southcott, a mother-of-three from Tiverton, who launched a campaign to safeguard the level of care provided at the unit following temporary midwifery provision changes last January, said she wanted to see Tiverton continue to provide in-patient post-natal care.

Mrs Southcott said: “I thought after last year and the great response we had from supporters of the maternity unit and the decision to restore postnatal care at the hospital, that people had actually listened to us, but now it seems like they don’t care. It is going to be a loss for the town if we don’t have full maternity provision here.

“Many of those people who support the maternity centre may not have any more children here, but we would like to think that our children could eventually have their own children in the town where they grew up.”

Laura Radley, 21, from Tiverton, shared her own experience of the care provided in Tiverton: “I had my daughter Gracie at Tiverton Hospital in September 2008. I was there for 12 hours and received one-to-one maternity care, but I had some complications and unfortunately I had to go to Exeter. I was left in a side room and had a bad experience there and after five days I was pleased to get back to Tiverton and be able to rest. In Exeter, you feel like a number, whereas in Tiverton, you feel like a person. I spoke to other mothers who gave birth at the same time and many of them had similar stories.” Mrs Radley said it was much better for families and friends to be able to visit mothers and newborns without making the journey into Exeter.

The NHS in Devon is proposing that from April, the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (RD&E) will take on the management of community maternity services in parts of Devon.

The proposal will affect 75 staff currently working in East and Mid Devon in maternity services, but staff have been assured there is no intention to make any redundancies.

Devon NHS says birth centres will continue to be the main focus of maternity provision in Tiverton and other community hospitals in Honiton and Okehampton following the transfer. NHS bosses believe the proposed move will see more babies born in community hospitals and at home. Discussion exercises with the public and staff about how to increase birth numbers at community hospitals will be launched shortly.

Val Beale, the local supervising authority midwifery officer, said she believed the changes would improve maternity services and would provide more choice.