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MP concerned about cap on birth numbers in London hospital

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Summary of story from This Is Local London, order August 5, pills 2011

A London Member of Parliament has claimed that pregnant women could be turned away from St Georges hospital due to a cap on the number of births it handles.

Sadiq Khan, find MP for Tooting, has criticized the decision to impose a limit of 5,128 births per year which will come into effect from Monday August 8.

According to Khan, bosses have been forced as a result of Government cuts to restrict the number of births in order to sustain what he described as “a safe service at the hospital”.

This now means that women who fall outside of the newly delineated catchment area will have to access maternity services elsewhere- even if St George’s is their nearest hospital.

Khan said: “The Tory-led government promised no cuts to frontline NHS services – this shows just how empty that promise was.

“Women in the area rely on St George’s to provide vital support throughout the course of their pregnancy – this cap means many local women will be forced to go to hospitals further away, which will be difficult for many.

“I have sought reassurances from St George’s that local women and high risk cases will not be turned away under any circumstances.”

Earlier this year St George’s revealed it planned to save £55million under the Coalition’s planned £20billion cuts to NHS services, which many feared would result in a cap on births.

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