The Royal Free Hospital’s maternity unit is facing closure

THE Royal Free Hospital is at the heart of the community of Hampstead and Kilburn.

It is a jewel in the crown of my constituency and a huge source of pride for me as the local MP.

The amazing staff who work there are a constant inspiration; they got us through the pandemic and have saved the lives of so many of my constituents.

I am therefore extremely concerned by the proposal by local health chiefs to close the hospital’s maternity unit, (Royal Free Hospital’s maternity unit faces axe, November 30).

This unit is a huge part of the hospital and part of what makes it such an important and cherished institution.

It has a special place in my heart as the birthplace of my children; and in the hearts of so many of my constituents who were either born there or had children there.

The transport difficulties in reaching other north London hospitals, like the Whittington, UCLH, or St Mary’s, means that the maternity services here are heavily relied upon by local residents, especially for mothers who have unexpected births.

Closing the unit would leave many of my constituents a long way, and several different public transport links, away from their nearest maternity services.

The wider context of this proposed closure is the cost-of-living crisis and the crisis in our National Health Service.

There are huge staffing shortages across our health service, which is short of 125,000 staff
right now after 13 years of underinvestment and failure by the Conservative government.

This is particularly affecting north London, where high rents are forcing many poorly-paid health workers to move out.

But the answer to this crisis cannot be to shut down vital local services like the Royal Free’s maternity and specialist neonatal unit.

We must instead address these problems at their source, including tackling the recruitment and retention crisis in our National Health Service and bringing down rents and the cost of living, particularly in London.

We have fought off proposed closures at the Royal Free before, including recent threats to the children’s A&E, and I will be fighting tooth and nail against the closure of our local maternity unit.

The consultation begins on December 11 and throughout it I will be making clear my views and that I will not stand by while services available to people in Hampstead and Kilburn are downgraded.

If anyone has any concerns about these proposals, I would encourage them to contribute to the consultation and get in touch with me via tulip.siddiq.mp@parliament.uk to share your views.

Together we will stand up for our community and against reckless cuts to our health services.

• Tulip Siddiq is Labour MP for Hampstead & Kilburn.