Health bosses will be asked to suspend services at Oswestry MLU for up to six months.

A meeting of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) board tomorrow (Thursday) will also look at suspending services at Bridgnorth and Ludlow for between three and six months from July 1.

It comes as SaTH suffered with staff sickness, which has led to a number of temporary suspensions at the MLUs with Oswestry currently suspended until July 11.

Deirdre Fowler, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Quality at SaTH, said: “We appreciate that such temporary suspensions of service are disruptive for mothers-to-be, their families and our staff and create uncertainty for women about whether an MLU will be open or not when they go into labour.

“As a result, we are proposing temporarily suspending services at our MLUs in Bridgnorth, Ludlow and Oswestry for between three and six months in a measured and planned way, rather than having to suspend some services temporarily at short notice to ensure we continue to provide a safe overall service.”