A POPULAR maternity hospital is at least five months away from re-opening despite public outrage at its closure, it was revealed last night.

The news came as the findings of a major investigation into the decision to close Guisborough Maternity Unit were revealed at a public meeting.

And a council report says the facility should be re-opened as soon as possible.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council launched the investigation after South Tees NHS Trust decided to temporarily shut the unit last November.

Speaking at the meeting, Fran Toller, head of midwifery for South Tees NHS Trust, said that although seven midwives have been recruited since it closed, a further eight were needed.

She said: "When we re-open the maternity unit, it must be done safely and we do not want to be in a position where we have to close it again. We hope to recruit more midwives in the summer, but we know that at least three midwives are planning to leave in the next 12 months."

Dozens of people from across Cleveland - including many pregnant women - attended the meeting at Laurence Jackson School.

They heard that it has always been the intention of the NHS Trust to re-open the unit as soon as possible and that it only closed last year because there were no longer enough midwives employed to run the unit safely.

The council investigation involved talking to members of the public, the NHS Trust, midwives, GPs and Alan Milburn, health minister.

Vilma Collins, chairman of the investigation committee, said the committee had made a number of recommendations to the NHS Trust:

* better public consultation strategies be established

* greater access to the NHS trust decision-making process

* care be taken that new technology should not preclude personal communication with new mothers

* a study be undertaken into transport difficulties from east Cleveland to the Middlesbrough James Cook Hospital Maternity Unit

* Guisborough Maternity Unit be used for more births.

The report concluded: "Most importantly the Guisborough Maternity Ward should be re-opened as soon as it is possible to provide a safe service from that location."