Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) has today published the report on the future of maternity services at St Mary’s Birth Centre in Melton Mowbray following engagement with women, families and staff.
Births and inpatient postnatal care at St Mary’s have been paused since July 2025 due to very low birth numbers and fragile staffing, which meant safe 24/7 midwifery cover could not be maintained. The report outlines the implications of these pressures and sets out a recommendation to implement the 2021 consultation decision to relocate services from the unit within current national constraints.
The Board will consider the recommendations in light of the feedback received and the information outlined in the report and make its final decision at its public meeting at Melton Borough Council offices on March 19.
The report provides extensive details of the key findings of the engagement process, outlining how the current pause impacted families and staff.
Summary of report recommendations
The report recommends that the Board:
APPROVE the relocation of intrapartum services from St Mary’s Birth Centre to the Midwifery-Led Unit at LGH, (in line with the original 2021 decision on maternity services, as far as possible, and in a safe, sustainable and fair way)
NOTE the consequence of this decision will also cease the provision of postnatal inpatient services at St Mary’s Birth Centre
NOTE the engagement findings to be shared with UHL as part of the ongoing improvement of UHL Maternity, Neonatal and Children and Young People services
The full report is available in Appendix 1 of the latest Board papers: LLR-NICB-Board-meeting-in-common-PUBLIC-papers-19-March-2026.pdf
For more information on the ICB Board and how to submit a question please visit: Board Meetings – LLR ICB
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