THE new mothers and young babies of Prestwich and Whitefield deserve better than to have their special care baby unit closed (Guide, July 16).

Many such departments have hard-working charitable organisations raising money for much-needed life-saving equipment as well as day-to-day basics.

If a baby has to be transferred to another hospital what will happen to the new mother? Will she stay at the birth hospital alone or be transferred with the poorly baby?

Dr Richard Campbell says that this re-organisation will, on the whole, save lives and provide a better quality of service. But what could be better for an expectant mother than to know that her baby is being born in a hospital with an excellent SCBU, should it be needed.

My children, along with my grandchild, were all born at Fairfield and luckily did not have need of the special unit. But I know of many babies who would not be alive today without the expertise of the wonderful staff on that department.

Fairfield General Hospital had thousands of pounds spent on its modernisation a few years ago. It has excellent staff and facilities and is a hospital that people can be proud of.

Over recent years the powers-that-be have slowly but surely dismantled Fairfield, moving whole departments to other hospitals within the Pennine Acute NHS Trust.

They may tell people something different but I know that not all those moves have been successful. Many very experienced staff have left. They took great pride in their job but could not tolerate the way management treated them or the way the service was being run.

I think now is the time for people to stand up and say what they want from local health care. Because if they don't, they will see it taken away from them through yet more cost-cutting.

GRANDPARENT

and NHS EMPLOYEE