Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on patient safety of the decision temporarily to suspend (a) births and (b) the special care baby unit at South Tyneside District Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Any possible reconfiguration of services is a matter for the local National Health Service. It is right that these decisions are led by local clinicians, who best understand the healthcare needs of their local populations, and in consultation with local people.

South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust has taken the decision temporarily to suspend births and the Special Care Baby Unit at South Tyneside District Hospital in the interests of patient safety. The local NHS is working hard to address its staffing challenges and to be able to return to the level of care patients expect.

No permanent changes to maternity services would be made without formal consultation.