HEALTH bosses have reassured people in a North Yorkshire town that their maternity service's future is secure.

Speaking at the unit in Malton yesterday Yvonne Webster - the new head of midwifery services charged with overseeing modernisation - said the review presented a fantastic opportunity to improve upon what were already acknowledged as excellent services.

"We are going to clarify the current model that we are working with at the moment, and we are going to be making recommendations on how to improve that," she said.

Mrs Webster said the idea that only three options for the future of services at Malton, Bridlington and Whitby maternity units were being considered was misinformed.

A report presented to the Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust board at the beginning of the year listed three options: the status quo, an 8am to 8pm service, or closing outlying units and transferring service provision to Scarborough.

But Mrs Webster said the newly-created maternity modernisation board, which was reviewing services, was looking at a multitude of ideas and there was no real set of options set in stone. "The ladies in Malton will not want the same as the ones in Whitby, Bridlington or Scarborough, because of the different socio-economics and geographical differences," she said.

"Although we are very committed to saying status quo is not an option, parts of that status quo - quality aspects and clinical and safety aspects - are the things we need to be building upon, not changing."

The Government is currently looking at UK-wide maternity provision as part of a National Service Framework, due to be completed at the end of the year.

Information released so far has indicated the quality of service provided at Malton is in line with guidelines to be incorporated in the framework, she added.

Jane Burns, senior midwifery manager at Malton Hospital, said she understood concerns surrounding the current review of maternity provision.

Mrs Burns, who has been a midwife at Malton for two years, said: "It could be described as an uneasy time and an upheaval, because any change is.

"But it is an exciting time, it's a brilliant opportunity - we provide an excellent service and we know we can go on. I don't feel as though it's anything to be feared, it's something to be acted upon."

Updated: 10:59 Friday, June 20, 2003