25 Apr 2026 5 min read Action

Save Stroud Maternity Unit

Here we go again

Photo taken by Kate Buckingham at the last major demonstration in support of Stroud Maternity Unit. The government may have changed but the policy of reducing services and eventual closure remains the same.

by Kate Buckingham | Stroud Maternity Matters
April 2026

WE ARE PROTESTING THE PROPOSED DOWNGRADING of Stroud Maternity Unit planned for this autumn — a move that represents a clear, back‑door attempt to close the unit entirely.

Midwives have reported that the Trust intends to close the unit overnight and limit it to daytime clinics and triage only

At the same time, the county‑wide suspension of home births has stripped families of safe, low‑risk birth options. Women and birthing people are furious — their choices are being systematically removed, and their safety compromised.

These changes are not about improving care. They are about making Stroud’s maternity services so limited and fragile that their future closure will seem inevitable. It’s a slow, piecemeal dismantling designed to leave the district with less and less to defend.

Two young children hold placards: one reads "Birth Rights — Human Rights" and the other "Reduce our demands on midwives" — Photograph by Kate Buckingham

What is being proposed, from what we know so far:

Overnight closure of Stroud Maternity Unit
Home births suspended across Gloucestershire — removing low‑risk options
Stroud midwives redeployed to cover home births county‑wide and on‑call duties for Stroud and Cheltenham
Only three midwives on shift — allowing just one birth at a time, since two are required per delivery
Unmanageable caseloads — staff facing exhaustion, redeployment, and loss of identity as community midwives

If allowed to proceed, these cuts will turn a once‑thriving, 24‑hour unit into a hollowed‑out shell

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A pattern of betrayal

IT HAS BEEN 300 WEEKS SINCE postnatal beds were “temporarily” closed. We were told it was due to staff shortages, subject to weekly review.

Those beds never reopened. Now, five and a half years later, the Trust is cutting deeper still.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — repeatedly rated “requiring improvement” — continues a culture of secrecy and fear, where midwives risk reprisal for speaking truth.

In 2020, nearly 7,000 local residents petitioned to protect Stroud maternity services. We were told sacrifices were made “to keep births in Stroud.” Now, the so‑called “permanent restructure” is taking even that away.

This is not neglect by accident — it is neglect by design.

The impact

THESE CHANGES will cause real harm:

Loss of choice for low‑risk births and home births
Higher intervention rates and unnecessary medicalisation
Weaker mental health and recovery outcomes
Falling breastfeeding rates
Collapse of continuity and community trust

Women are rightfully outraged. The Trust is dismantling our right to safe, local, relationship‑based maternity care piece by piece.

We must act now

THE TRUST HAS YET TO ISSUE a full public statement, but midwives confirm the plans are imminent — scheduled for this autumn.

Once implemented, these downgrades will almost certainly become permanent, completing the slow suffocation of Stroud Maternity Unit.

Stroud’s midwifery model — built on compassion, continuity, and trust — is irreplaceable. This community has already lost too much. We will not lose the rest to stealth cuts and managerial indifference.

We demand:

An immediate halt to the proposed restructuring
A public statement of full intentions and impact
The restoration of postnatal beds and home birth services
The protection of 24‑hour birth services in Stroud
Honest engagement with staff and local families

This is a fight for truth, choice, and the right to give birth safely in our community.

The downgrades are a deliberate back‑door closure — a dismantling by stealth.

We see it clearly, and we will not accept it.

Take action

Sign the petition

Write to your MP and local councillors. Be sure to include your full address including postcode as the Parliamentary team will not respond to enquiries that aren't confirmed constituents.

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WriteToThem is a website which provides an easy way to contact MPs, councillors and other elected representatives.

WriteToThem

Write to the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care (Wes Streeting MP)

Write to Wes Streeting MP

Photograph by Kate Buckingham — Hands wearing pink wristbands that read "Stroud Maternity Matters - Keep it open"

Kate Buckingham is the former Chair of Stroud Maternity Matters.