MUMS-TO-BE will no longer be able to give birth at Dovercourt’s Fryatt Hospital after health bosses made a final decision to close the maternity unit.

The Colchester General Hospital trust appro ved plans to scrap births at the hospital in September, but they were subject to a public consultation and discussion with Essex County Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Following two public meetings in Harwich, the trust has made the final decision to stop women giving birth at the midwife-led unit, from April 1 next year.

Harwich councillor Ivan Henderson previously labelled the consultation a “box ticking exercise.”

Nick Hume, chief executive of the trust, said the engagement with patients and the community was an important part of making the final decision.

He said: “Our engagement with patients and the community was extremely important to ascertain whether there was any information of which we needed to be aware, and whether there were any matters we had not yet considered.”

Mr Hulme has previously said the reason was purely financial and it cost the trust £8,000 to deliver a baby in Harwich when it only gets just £2,000 per birth.

All other maternity services, such as ante-natal and post-natal clinics, will continue and women will be offered the option of giving birth at home, at Colchester General Hospital or at Clacton Hospital.

A report to the trust board said during the engagement period from September to November 15, five written responses were received from former staff, members of the public, patients and Harwich Town Council.

Concerns included the possibility the closure is part of larger and wider service closures at the hospital, and whether it is appropriate to base the decision to close the birthing unit on the relatively small number of people using the service.

Two public meetings were held at the Electric Palace Cinema, King’s Quay Street, Harwich, in October.

About 23 people attended the first meeting and 12 were present at the second.

They asked whether the closure was a “direct result” of the NHS’s current financial climate and raised concerns about travelling to and from Colchester Hospital’s Juno Suite.