WE read with great concern about the proposed closure of Fairfield neo-natal unit and feel angered at the manner in which the proposals have been put forward just one month after the local elections.

These proposals have been on the cards for well over six months and I can recall similar letters on this page earlier this year.

We, like many other parents in Bury, are indebted to the staff in the special care baby unit after our son was born nine weeks premature, weighing just 3lb 9oz.

It is worrying that health professionals are prepared to put young vulnerable lives in unnecessary danger by suggesting that Bury no longer requires such a unit. Babies do not have to be premature to use the unit; a proportion of admissions are unexpected emergencies. How will they deal with these cases quickly and efficiently?

Two hundred of the 2,400 babies born at Fairfield require special care -- that's a shocking eight per cent of births which will be put in danger because of these money-saving plans.

The staff at Fairfield show professionalism and compassion with total dedication towards the babies they care for. I sincerely hope that, if the closure proceeds, the promise of no redundancies is kept.

Thanks to all the staff at Fairfield SCBU, our son is now a thriving, healthy three-month-old. I would ask people to support the campaign to keep the unit open; you never know when you may need it.

JASON & BEVERLEY WALKER,

Brandlesholme, Bury.