Advertisement

'Hands off our Horton' says thousands against hospital cuts

Thousands of people angry at plans to downgrade services at a Oxfordshire hospital have taken to the streets to protest today.

Nearly 5000 protesters turned out to support the 'Hands off our Horton' campaign - to protect maternity services being cut from Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

On the 31st August, the trust board will decide whether obstetric services at the Horton General Hospital will be suspended from the end of September.

We understand there will be concerns about the possibility of the maternity unit becoming midwife-led. However, our first priority is to manage births safely at the unit. Our midwives will continue to provide home births and low-risk births at the Horton maternity unit. Antenatal and postnatal clinics will also continue. But high risk women, for example women with multiple pregnancies, high BMIs, or expected complications, require obstetric services. They will give birth at the John Radcliffe Hospital where obstetric care is available. "

– Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust