Petition to Save North Devon Maternity Services Hits 8,000 Signatures in 24 Hours, as MP Launches Urgent Campaign

A petition launched by North Devon MP Ian Roome to protect maternity services at North Devon District Hospital has gained more than 8,000 signatures following the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Trust's announcement that births will be temporarily suspended at the hospital from 11 August 2026.

The local NHS Trust has said the temporary suspension is the result of an expected shortage of consultant obstetricians and gynaecologists, creating staffing pressures that mean it cannot safely maintain births at North Devon District Hospital.

This would require women labour to be transferred to hospitals including Exeter or Taunton to give birth. 

Ian Roome MP has been in contact with the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Trust and written to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the British Medical Association, NHS Devon Integrated Care Board and Government ministers to seek urgent support in addressing the recruitment crisis and protecting local maternity services.

Ian is calling on the trust to put in place emergency continuity plans, including seeking out cover staff from other parts of the South West, and is urging a massive public response to restore local maternity services as soon as possible.

North Devon’s MP, Ian Roome, said: 

“We must protect local maternity services here in North Devon at all costs. The response from our community has been extraordinary: more than 8,000 petition signatures in such little time sends a clear message that our community expects every possible effort to be made to protect local maternity services."

“This is a recruitment crisis. A critical shortage of consultant obstetricians and gynaecologists has forced the Trust to this point - and it is hugely worrying for women in labour who may now have to travel to hospitals much further from home. 

“We cannot allow this to become the thin end of the wedge. I’ll be making every call, using every contact and exhausting every avenue to help find a solution. North Devon families deserve access to safe, local maternity care, and I'll keep pushing until every possible option has been explored.”