NHS bosses have moved to calm fears over the future of Stroud’s Maternity Unit.

Earlier this week concerns were raised that the serious financial crisis at the Gloucestershire NHS Foundation Trust – which runs the unit – would trickle down and put significant pressures on local services.

Labour and Green councillors said mounting pressures on the NHS over the next few years, coupled with an uphill struggle to pay off the £11m deficit the Trust had found itself in, would force to Trust to look for savings.

But the Trust played down the community’s worries, dismissing suggestions the birth unit was currently in the cross hairs.

A spokesperson has since told the SNJ: “There are no current proposals or plans affecting Stroud Maternity Unit.

“We firmly believe excellent quality of care and good financial health go hand in hand and are determined that as a Trust we will meet the challenges ahead in order to continue to provide high quality, sustainable services for our patients.”

A spokeswomen for the Conservative group on Stroud District Council said: “The Conservative administration fought hard to keep the unit open a decade ago.

“Our position on this is the same as the Trust’s – there are no current proposals affecting the Stroud Maternity Unit.

“We will be doing all we can to support the Trust to get the best for the people of Stroud.”

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of three trusts to have been put into financial special measures by NHS Improvement.

Last month the trust was forced to take out a £20 million loan after a planned £5.3 million surplus for the end of this financial year was revised to a deficit of £11.1 million.

As part of financial special measures, the trust agrees a recovery plan with NHS Improvement.

Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS Improvement, said this was a “significant concern” and that: “They’ve agreed savings targets locally but are a long way from meeting them.”

The spokesperson from the Gloucestershire Trust added it was “not in a position” to answer questions over how the financial savings would be made.

“But there will be further updates about our financial position over the coming months,” she said.

Brian Oosthuysen, Labour county councillor for Rodborough and a governor on the Trust's, said while has wasn’t aware of any plans affecting the unit at the moment, some “fairly drastic” savings were going to have to be made.

“At the moment I know of no plans to do anything with the maternity hospital,” he told the SNJ. “If there are plans I will oppose them strongly.

“I have every confidence in the new chief executive Deborah Lee – but the Trust is in all kinds of problems.

“We are awaiting a report to the chief executive which should be coming very soon. After that we’ll have a much clearer idea.

“But they will have to take some drastic measures and we will have to keep an eye on where they fall.”

Meanwhile, Stroud District Council is due to discuss the matter at its full council meeting at Ebley Mill tonight.

Cllr Doina Cornell (Labour) and cllr John Marjoram (Green) have tabled a motion highlighting serious concerns over the town’s maternity services.

If the motion is passed, a delegation of group leaders from SDC will look to meet with senior members of the trusts and the Clinical Commissioning Group “to seek guarantees about the future of the hospital and maternity unit”.

It is not clear yet whether the Conservatives will oppose the motion.

The Tory group is the biggest party on SDC. But it is narrowly locked out of power by a co-operative alliance of all the other parties – Labour, Greens and Lib Dems.

Martin Whiteside (Thrupp), leader of the Greens at Ebley Mill, said: “We are seconding the motion tonight.

“We are very concerned about the future of Stroud Maternity Unit – and many of the other local services. We just don’t know how they will be affected yet. But there is no doubt the future doesn’t look great.

“We’re calling on the NHS Trust and the Clinical Commissioning Group to make these plans public so that everyone can contribute.

“The NHS Trust needs to be transparent about this.”

Updates to follow.