Births should no longer take place at the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, it has been announced.
The Northern Trust made the announcement at a public meeting in Portrush on Thursday.
The decision now requires approval by the Department of Health at Stormont.
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The Trust say hospital births in the Northern Trust area - which covers Coleraine and Magherafelt in Co Derry, as well as Cookstown and most of Co Antrim - should now take place at Antrim Hospital instead.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: "Clinicians have advised the Trust that the current provision of maternity services at Causeway Hospital is unsustainable because of falling birth rates, workforce challenges and the absence of neonatal special care baby unit facilities at the hospital. The workforce challenges reflect the wider problem of attracting specialist clinicians to smaller hospital sites
"The consultation presented the Trust’s two ‘clinically deliverable’ options. Both options proposed the transfer of all obstetric consultant-led births from Causeway Hospital to Antrim, with retention and enhancement of early pregnancy assessment units, antenatal and postnatal clinics and scheduled ambulatory services on Causeway site."
One of the options considered was the establishment of a "freestanding midwifery-led unit at Causeway Hospital" but the Trust say this has now been "discounted" pending the outcome of a review led from Stormont.
Dr Dave Watkins, Medical Director at the Northern Trust said: “We have always been clear about the reasons why change is required. Serious concerns continue to be raised by clinicians in relation to the safety and sustainability of the Trust’s current model of maternity services and we cannot ignore those.
“Our ultimate aim is to have a new-build Women and Children’s Unit on the Antrim Hospital site. This will provide high-quality, purpose-built accommodation for maternity and paediatric services. However, it is subject to business case approval and funding availability and is unlikely to be commissioned for service before 2027/28 at the earliest."
He continued: “So we urgently need an interim solution that will address the challenges.
“The public consultation allowed us to explain the need for change and to present for consideration what we believe were the only two clinically deliverable options. Hopefully we have achieved that but we also acknowledge that change is never easy and we understand the very real concerns that many people have and which have been well reflected throughout the consultation period."
He added: “In recommending the transfer of all hospital births to Antrim, that does not prevent us revisiting the possibility of setting up a midwifery-led unit in the Trust at some point in the future, should the outcome of the Department’s review offer that flexibility.”
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