London maternity unit to shut in response to steep fall in birth rate

A cyclist and a bus outside the Royal Free hospital in London. Photograph: Sophoe Chesters-Nash -intern/The Guardian

NHS chiefs have decided to shut the maternity unit at a major London hospital in response to a dramatic fall in the birthrate in its area in recent years.

The Royal Free hospital will lose its unit because the number of women having a baby in Camden, the borough in which it is located, has declined by almost 30% since 2019/20.