by Mary Graham

Letters are being sent to 20,000 women as part of a campaign calling for all maternity services to stay in Maidstone.

The campaign, which is being taken to the door of health secretary Andy Burnham, will be launched on Saturday, September 5 by Peter Carroll, the Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate for Maidstone and the Weald.

Called Full Maternity at Maidstone, Mr Carroll’s campaign has the backing of retired maternity consultant, Alan Pentecost, who founded the Maidstone Maternity Unit in 1974.

Campaign group MASH - Maidstone Action for Services in Hospital - has also called for the full range of services to stay in Maidstone. Members have met hospital consultants during the summer to outline their views.

The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust plans to concentrate all maternity services at the new Pembury Hospital from around 2011, leaving a midwifery-led birthing unit in Maidstone. The birthing unit would not be able to deal with complications that may arise during birth, such as a woman needing an emergency Caesarean section.

At Saturday’s launch event, which starts at 11am outside Marks and Spencer in Week Street, women can sign the petition which will be sent with a letter to Mr Burnham.

Over the next few weeks around 20,000 women will receive letters urging them to add their signatures and a Facebook group called Keep Full Maternity at Maidstone has also been set up.

• Anyone unable to attend the launch can email Mr Carroll at pdcarroll@cix.co.uk