Inpatient maternity services at Daisy Hill hospital in Newry will be temporarily suspended from 23 November.
Southern Health Trust board members have voted in favour a proposal to move the services to Craigavon hospital, as the trust says it has been unable to recruit enough consultant obstetricians to safely staff both hospitals.
There has been significant opposition to the consolidation plan from people in Newry and further afield, including South Down and South Armagh – and it’s now subject to a legal challenge.
A 40-year-old pregnant woman is to lodge judicial review papers at the High Court on Tuesday afternoon to attempt to force the trust to delay the implementation of the plan.
While the move has been described as temporary, there is currently no time-frame on the restoration of services at Daisy Hill.
The Trust has said it does not want to be in this position but it has exhausted all recruitment attempts.
It needs eight substantive consultants – from the end of this month it will have two, plus three locum consultants.
Questions have also been asked about Craigavon’s ability to cope with the additional 1,700 births expected there, as a result of the change.
The Trust said Craigavon is ready to deal with the increase in demand.
