For the residents of Marshfield, the answer seems to be Yate, since the village’s ante-natal clinics stopped last year. But if you are a pregnant mother without a car or a bus service, how do you travel a 20 mile round trip to see a midwife?

“Both the doctor’s surgery and Steve Webb MP have raised this matter with the Primary Care Trust and we’re waiting to see what it will take to get this service back.” says Karen Wilkinson, a Marshfield Parish Councillor. “It simply doesn’t make sense to women or indeed the health professionals involved.”

Ms Wilkinson, called “a brave woman” by Channel 4 after talking to demonstrators at the recent Liberal Democrat conference, is working to get transport arranged for affected mums-to-be as soon as possible. “Marshfield is a great community for solving its own problems. Last year some enterprising ladies organised a voluntary Hospital Transport Scheme for residents who needed to get to hospital appointments. The aim is to expand this scheme to include the necessary visits to Yate. However, this is still not ideal and we will continue to press the PCT to understand how we could get the ante-natal clinics back to Marshfield surgery.”

Malcolm Watson, also a Liberal Democrat campaigning for residents in Boyd Valley, said “We are concerned that the PCT does not understand the requirements of a rural population. Questions about the reduction in home visits from the district nursing team are also being raised and we would be very pleased to get a fuller picture of residents’ experiences throughout Boyd Valley. We appreciate there are budgetary restraints but that’s all the more reason to identify problems and find solutions.”

If you have concerns about access to ante-natal or other services in Boyd Valley, Karen and Malcolm would be very pleased to hear about it. Email [email protected] or phone 0788 557 2626.

   Leave a comment