Whittington maternity unit saved in win for campaigners

Islington Labour and cabinet members celebrate outside Whittington hospital. Photograph: Islington Labour

The NHS has confirmed it will keep Whittington’s maternity ward open, in a move that has brought relief to campaigners.

The North Central London Integrated Care Board (NCL ICB) yesterday finalised its decision to maintain the unit at the Archway hospital, following a public consultation last year and lobbying by local politicians and activists.

Islington’s health chief Cllr Flora Williamson and children’s boss Michelline Safi Ngongo said the verdict was a “resounding victory” for the borough and “testament to what can be achieved”.

“The Whittington unit is an essential part of Islington, with many local people being born there, given birth there, or both,” they said.

“We are proud to be the only political party in Islington to have campaigned purely for the needs of Islington and our residents.”

The health service has mulled the unit’s closure since 2021 due to falling birth rates.

At the time, the ICB’s chief medical officer, Dr Jo Sauvage, told the BBC the board wanted to make sure “all pregnant people within north central London have access to the same, high quality, safe services and also positive patient experience”.

Under proposed changes to its ‘Start Well’ programme, the health service sought to reduce its number of maternity and neo-natal care units from five down to four.

While Whittington has been spared the chop, yesterday’s meeting also rubber-stamped a decision to close the maternity ward at Camden’s Royal Free Hospital.

During the public consultation on the plans, a majority of survey respondents from across north London said they believed Hampstead’s unit should be shut rather than Archway’s.

This option was seen as the “least disruptive”, as the Whittington ward was seeing more births than the Royal Free, and providing support for premature babies with more serious medical problems.

The ICB also acknowledged that the Islington health centre was serving a deprived areas, such as north Islington and Haringey, with a younger population and poorer birth outcomes.

However, the same questionnaire revealed that less than half of NHS staff who responded supported the plans in general.