County Hospital birthing unit in Stafford to close permanently after NHS approval

A birthing unit at County Hospital in Stafford will never reopen after NHS leaders approved its permanent closure.

The freestanding midwife-led unit at the hospital, along with a second unit at Samuel Johnson Community Hospital in Lichfield, has been temporarily suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic. Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board has now agreed that both should close permanently — a decision independently confirmed by the Health Service Journal, which reported that “an integrated care board cluster has confirmed it will permanently close two birthing units”.

Board members were told the decision would provide a safer and more sustainable maternity service, according to A Little Bit of Stone.

Before its temporary closure, the County Hospital unit handled an average of eight births a month, while the Samuel Johnson unit handled 18. Around 30 births a month is considered the minimum for a unit to be clinically and financially viable.

The units catered for low-risk births and each would require at least 12 experienced midwives to provide safe staffing around the clock. Chief nursing officer Vanessa Whatley told the board that reopening them would not be an efficient use of the available workforce.

“The evidence leads to this permanent closure, which is the most sustainable and clinically appropriate option, while maintaining local antenatal and postnatal services and preserving choice throughout the pathway,” Ms Whatley said. “I’d like to emphasise that the key driver for the recommendation is the sustainability and safety of maternity services.”

ICB chief executive Simon Whitehouse said: “This is fundamentally about a clinically safe model of care. The clinical evidence as set out in the business case is really clear.”

All antenatal and postnatal services will continue at County Hospital, with no change to most services at Samuel Johnson. The board was told the travel impact would be “minimal” and that Royal Stoke University Hospital and Queen’s Hospital in Burton had sufficient capacity for low-level midwife-led births. Members were also told that no viable alternatives to permanent closure had been identified through the consultation.

A formal public consultation on the future of the two units ran between 12 May and 3 August 2025 and received more than 1,400 responses, according to the ICB.

Sources

• A Little Bit of Stone: “Stafford birthing unit to close permanently after NHS decision” — https://alittlebitofstone.com/stafford-birthing-unit-to-close-permanently-after-nhs-decision/
• Health Service Journal (Caitlin Tilley, 28 September 2026): “Closure of birthing units announced by ICBs” — https://www.hsj.co.uk/patient-safety/closure-of-birthing-units-announced-by-icbs/8124421.article
• Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board: “Birthing services at midwife-led units” — https://staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk/get-involved/consultation-and-engagement/birthing-services-at-midwife-led-units/