She said it was an “enormous decision and one we feel the weight of in our community” but the hospital trust was “extremely concerned” about staffing levels at the NDDH.<\/p>\n
The trust said it could not guarantee that “women would consistently have access to the level of senior medical support during labour they may require”.<\/p>\n
Purday said it had relied on locum and agency staff for some time, and that recent staff shortages and absences had “tipped the balance into it being unsafe to continue beyond 11 August”.<\/p>\n
She said maternity teams at North Devon District Hospital and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, had “worked so hard and held this service together for many months, working extra and longer hours to ensure our families got the care they needed”.<\/p>\n
But despite efforts to fill gaps in the rota, the trust had been unable to secure enough medical staff from August.<\/p>\n
Hospital leaders stressed the move would be temporary and said work was already under way to reopen the unit as soon as possible through recruitment and training.<\/p>\n
Maternity teams have started contacting pregnant women in order of their due dates and clinical priority to discuss birth plans. Those who are already more than 34 weeks pregnant will be contacted first.<\/p>\n
Follow BBC Devon on X, external<\/a>, Facebook, external<\/a> and Instagram, external<\/a>. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk, external<\/a>.<\/p>\n