💗 A RESPONSE FROM NHS LEADERSHIP - BUT OUR COMMUNITY MUST BE HEARD BEFORE A DECISION

I wanted to share an important development in our campaign to protect maternity services at St Helier Hospital.

We've now received a written response from the NHS Trust's Group Chief Executive, Mat Shaw, addressing the questions raised by our campaign.

The Trust has confirmed that:

• No preferred option has been chosen and no decision has been made to relocate maternity services.
• Phased refurbishment at St Helier remains under consideration alongside the temporary relocation of maternity and neonatal services to other hospitals.
• Further assessments, including workforce impacts and travel times, are still being finalised.
• The Board's decision on a preferred option has been postponed until early December.
• Mat Shaw has invited us to meet and discuss the concerns raised by our campaign.

I welcome this response and the opportunity for direct dialogue with NHS leadership.

However, one aspect of the response raises an important concern.

📢 OUR COMMUNITY MUST BE HEARD BEFORE A PREFERRED OPTION IS CHOSEN
The Trust's letter explains that further engagement with local families, residents and stakeholders will take place once the Board has identified a preferred option.

But shouldn't the people most affected have an opportunity to help inform which option is preferred in the first place?

We believe meaningful community engagement should take place before a preferred option is recommended or selected - not only afterwards.

This means giving local families, expectant parents, staff and residents the opportunity to understand both proposals, ask questions and share their concerns while the options are still being assessed.

We are asking the Trust to consider holding a public engagement meeting at St Helier Hospital before the Board selects its preferred option, and to ensure that the feedback received is formally considered.

We will also be seeking clarity on the clinical evidence, funding, staff impacts, travel times and capacity of neighbouring hospitals.

💗 2,993 SIGNATURES AND COUNTING
Almost 3,000 people have now supported our campaign.

Your signatures demonstrate how much these services matter to our community.

I will be accepting Mat Shaw's invitation to meet and will use that opportunity to raise these concerns directly, including how our petition can be formally presented to the Board.

We recognise the importance of patient safety and the need to address St Helier's infrastructure problems. Our request is that every safe and viable option is properly considered, with the community involved before a preferred option is chosen.

Thank you for continuing to stand with us.

Please keep signing and sharing.

Our community. Our maternity services. Our voices. 💗