IT was with horror that I read of the proposed closure of the special care baby unit at Fairfield.

Giving birth rarely goes according to the text book. In my case it was a long and painful process, even with painkiller help available. Complications can set in within minutes and both mother and baby need specialist help there and then - not miles away at another hospital.

My grandson was born six weeks prematurely on December 8, 2003. Thanks to the skill and dedication of the SCBU doctors and nurses, he came home after two weeks.

My daughter was discharged after one week, but still had to make the daily journey from Radcliffe to Fairfield to be with her son and to deliver her breast milk.

A woman's hormones are all over the place, even after a normal delivery. In my daughter's case she was very upset and would certainly not have been well enough to come home just hours after the birth.

Thankfully the SCBU has a "bedding-down" facility where the mum stays in with her baby for 24-48 hours. They can therefore look after their baby but have the back-up of hospital staff if problems arise.

Why change a system which has worked so well for both mother and baby over the years?

My grandson is now a healthy seven-month-old baby who has "caught up" with others of the same age. I put this down to the skill of the doctors and nurses in the SCBU at Fairfield who - importantly in my view - looked after my grandson and daughter at the "birth" hospital.

A WORRIED NANA