A former Salford Royal midwife has raised her concerns about a local birth centres future.
Ingleside Birth centre in Salford is unavailable for births due to midwifery staffing shortages, leaving expectant mothers seeking hospital deliveries outside of Salford.
However, Jeanne Lythgoe, a midwifery lecturer at the University of Salford and former Salford Royal midwife, believes the centre faced difficulties from the beginning.
Lythgoe, who has worked in nursing and midwifery in Salford for over 30 years, explained that Ingleside was established using existing funding and staffing resources, making it difficult to continue without additional investment.
She said: “The centre struggled to attract enough women to book births and was not promoted sufficiently.”
Staffing shortages also meant that the centre could not always stay open overnight, with midwives sometimes having to travel from Bolton to cover shifts.
Jeanne, who previously campaigned to keep maternity services at Salford Royal, expressed her sadness that babies can no longer be born at a dedicated facility in Salford.
She also raised concerns about the limited birthing choices available to women, suggesting that fewer opportunities to support home births and midwife deliveries are “affecting midwives confidence and experience”, she said.
Although births were put on hold at Ingleside in 2022, the centre continues to provide support and care for local families.
In 2024, Salford City Council agreed to renew Bolton NHS Foundation Trust’s lease of the facility until 2029, allowing other maternity services to continue.
A Change.org petition, titled: “Why are zero children born into the city of Salford?”, is calling for urgent action to restore birthing services in time for the city’s 100th anniversary year.
The petition has urged Salford City Council, NHS Greater Manchester and Bolton NHS Foundation Trust to commit to reopening the centre.
It asks for increased midwife recruitment, a clear reopening timeline, and prioritising Ingleside in the 2026/27 maternity services review.
Supporters of the petition argue that travelling to maternity facilities in Manchester or Bolton can cause additional stress, costs and inconvenience for expectant parents.
Local mothers have shared their experiences of accessing maternity care through Ingleside, including the challenges of travelling to hospitals outside of Salford.
Siobhan Hancock said: “I chose Ingleside and had scans there but in the end I needed a hospital as I had complications”.
She explained that because Ingleside was linked to Bolton Hospital, she had to travel there every day for seven weeks.
“Had I known I probably would have chosen St Mary’s or a closer hospital”, she added.
Another mother, Sarah Marshall, described a similar experience in 2021.
She said: “I had all appointments at Ingleside in 2021 and wanted to have my baby there, but ended up having to get my care transferred to Bolton due to becoming a higher risk pregnancy.”
Although these experiences were linked to medical complications rather than the later closure of birthing services, they highlight the importance of accessible maternity care and clear information about the options available.
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Manchester said: “The safety of women and babies will always come first. Births at Ingleside remain on hold while midwifery staffing challenges continue.”
They added: “We know how important Ingleside is to families in Salford, and it continues to provide antenatal and postnatal care.”
The NHS confirmed that any decision to resume births would depend on safe staffing levels and be made in partnership with NHS providers.
