Like many local residents, I have been very concerned about the continued temporary closure of the maternity unit at Macclesfield Hospital, resulting from the pandemic, and have urged East Cheshire NHS Trust Board to set out when the unit would be reopened.

I welcome the recent statement from Ged Murphy, the Chief Executive of East Cheshire NHS Trust, which reconfirmed the commitment to reopen the unit. In the statement, Mr Murphy also explained that the plan will see the services back in place within a further year.

It is very disappointing that it will take this long to achieve the long-awaited outcome. That’s why I recently met with Mr Murphy, and Graham Urwin, Designate Chief Executive of the Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care Board, to discuss the latest plans and some of the related operational challenges they have raised.

At the meeting, they affirmed that the plans to reopen the maternity unit are moving ahead and that their aim is for the services to be reopened within 12 months, with the support of other local NHS partners. They also confirmed that they have communicated plans with the local maternity team and will continue to work with staff to help bring them back to Macclesfield Hospital over the months ahead.

I will continue to actively work with local NHS leaders to help deliver the return of these much-valued services and will press for this to happen at the earliest opportunity.