CAMPAIGNERS fighting against the closure of services at Banbury's Horton Hospital have urged people to speak out during the upcoming consultation or risk cuts to funding.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) has said it will hold a public consultation in October on plans to move maternity consultants from the hospital, leaving the unit staffed only by midwives.

A special baby care unit would also be scrapped, all part of plans to save £2.2m.

Last Tuesday the county's Community Partnership Network met at the Cherwell District Council offices to Bodicote to discuss the plans, with midwives working at the hospital being invited to share their views.

Andrew McHugh, the former practice manager of Horsefair Surgery, said he had contacted many GPs in the north of the county.

He added that their response was overwhelmingly against the proposed Maternity Led Unit (MLU) on the "grounds of safety" as there would not be adequate support left in Banbury.

Keith Strangwood, chairman of the Keep The Horton General campaign and a member of the CPN, said he felt the meeting was a good opportunity to praise the work of midwives at the hospital.

He said: "We suggested at the meeting that the midwives have at least one representative who attends all meetings that will affect their future and that of the maternity department at the Horton.

"At last, the informed voice of reason will be heard."

Labour councillors in Banbury also called on the hospital trust to ensure that as many people as possible can take part in the consultation.

County councillor Mark Cherry noted: "Let’s not forget that when the maternity unit was under threat in 2006 people took to the streets of Banbury in protest.

"This is all about saving money at a time when there are 8000 new homes being built in and around Banbury."

Fellow Labour councillor Surinder Dhesi, a member of the health and overview scrutiny committee, said: "I am very concerned and will be bringing up these threats to services at the next meeting.

"I recently took my husband to an appointment at the Radcliffe Hospital and it took us over an hour.

"Just imagine what might happen if a woman needed specialist maternity help and had to be taken the 25 miles to Oxford.

"We all know the Radcliffe is overstretched at the moment and they use the Horton as an overflow.

"Any downgrading of vital services at the Horton is putting lives at risk."

A spokesman for the OUH has said it is currently reviewing services to meet future needs and no decision has been made.