A PUBLIC meeting in support of the much-loved Grange Birth Centre in Petersfield will be held at The Petersfield School on October 9. The meeting will be led by East Hampshire MP Michael Mates and the aim is to reinforce the importance of the centre in the town and the strength of its support. The Hampshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) launched its consultation in July to decide on the future of maternity consultation in south east Hampshire. The preferred choice of the PCT is to retain and improve The Grange in Petersfield alongside a second birthing centre at Blake, Gosport, which would be staffed by midwives and healthcare support workers 24 hours a day. The PCT has said it would also prefer to have additional facilities at a 'co-located' unit at St Mary's which would move to the new Queen Alexandra Hospital at Cosham when completed in 2009. Save the Grange campaigners welcomed the proposals when they were announced in July and have urged Petersfield people to back them by voicing their support. At the time, leading Save The Grange campaigner Sarah Roberts said: "We are delighted that the PCT prefer this option. This would mean that all areas win. In Petersfield, we would return to a full service at the Grange Birth Centre, providing midwife led birth and post-natal services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 365 days a year. "Although this option does mean the closure of Blackbrook Birth Centre in Fareham, the consultation does provide the option to expand maternity services in the planned Fareham Community Hospital in the future. "What this whole process will confirm is a certain future for the birth centres in our area and a firm commitment from the PCT and NHS Trust to make them work. "This certain future is what our campaign has been working towards for the past two years – we now need the public support to make it really happen."
