A MOTHER of twins with more reason than most to be grateful for maternity services at Dorset County Hospital has hit out at plans that could put them under threat.

Little Albie and Flynn Tyler are about to celebrate their second birthday and are a pair of healthy, bubbly little boys but it could have been different were it not for the efforts of staff at the Dorchester Hospital.

Mum Sarah, from Maiden Newton, had been identified as a higher risk category pregnancy and had planned to have a caesarian section at 36 weeks in November 2013.

However, just before she was due to go in she began feeling unwell and had to be taken into the maternity unit for assessment.

Sarah’s blood pressure was rising and, although the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) was full, staff opted against transferring her to Southampton and instead cared for her in a side room in the maternity ward where SCBU specialist nurses could assess her.

Sarah’s condition deteriorated further, but thanks to the efforts of the team, including consultant Mohemed Siddig, her boys were safely delivered.

She said: “I received top quality care that not only saved the life of my twin boys but also my own.”

Sarah said she could not have imagined the implications if she had been faced with a transfer to another hospital at that late stage in the pregnancy.

She said: “In short, any lengthy transfer or drive would have been extremely dangerous for both myself and my boys.”

Sarah is pregnant again and is due early next year and she said she would be totally against the prospect of any transfer of services that could see her have to travel to the other side of the county.

She said: “I am expecting another child in February 2016 and I can safely say that trips to Poole or Bournemouth for assessment or any possible emergencies would be extremely worrying, stressful and dangerous.

“We need these services kept in Dorchester.”

Campaigners calling for services to be kept at Dorset County Hospital are set to march through Dorchester on December 12 to show their support for the hospital.

They will be meeting at the Top O’Town car park from 11am, with the march starting at 11.30am.