RYEDALE MP John Greenway has demanded to know what health chiefs have in store for maternity services at Malton Hospital.

Stepping into the debate over possible changes to maternity provision at the hospital, Mr Greenway has written to Alison Guy, chief executive of Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare, to ask what the trust now intends to do.

Last week, the Evening Press reported that three options had been put forward for the future of the service, including no change, changing to an 8am to 8pm service with on-call provisions or closing the unit and moving all services to Scarborough.

It emerged that the trust working group was not presented with the "no change" option. In his letter to Miss Guy, Mr Greenway writes that there is a "feeling that a decision to close the unit has already been taken.

"Local residents are also bemused as to how an 8am-8pm service would work in practice and what would happen to nursing mothers who have had their baby delivered at Malton if they needed to stay in hospital overnight, as most do.

"There is also concern that the promised public consultation, which has not yet taken place, will be a sham if the complete maintenance of the unit as now is not one of the options under consideration."

Mr Greenway wrote: "Above all I would be grateful for your confirmation that it remains the Trust's intention that maintaining the full status quo at Malton should be an option which is put out for public consultation."

He said today: "This is a safe and popular service. The policy of Government is to actually encourage more local service provision of maternity services rather than reducing it.

"What I am wanting from Alison Guy is confirmation that whatever the maternity board recommends that consultation, which we were promised, will including maintaining the full service at Malton as it is now."

No one from Scarborough Primary Care Trust or the hospital was available for comment.

Updated: 10:39 Wednesday, June 04, 2003