A hospital maternity unit will not face changes despite a national shortage of midwives.

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said that despite initially putting contingency plans in place for expected staffing issues, it is now sure the maternity service at Worthing Hospital will be able to run as usual.

This means expectant mothers will be able to give birth at the hospital if they choose to.

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The news comes after the hospital feared it may not have had enough specialist staff over the next few months to help women give birth safely.

Meetings were held and the hospital trust has now established this is not the case.

A spokesman for University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said: "Worthing Hospital has been affected by a national shortage of midwives and neonatal nurses, which has left it with higher vacancy rates than usual. 

"An increase in sickness and other absence during the summer months meant the trust needed to review and ensure enough specialist staff were available to keep maternity services safe during this period. 

"Maternity colleagues have been working hard to address this and are now confident the hospital will have the right number of experienced staff in these key roles at all times. 

"Providing safe care is everyone’s priority at University Hospitals Sussex.  

"Removing maternity services permanently was never under consideration and the possibility of a temporary suspension has been avoided thanks to the commitment of the hospital’s neonatal and midwifery teams. "

Claire Hunt, Worthing Hospital’s director of nursing for children and gynaecology, said: “Providing the best and safest possible care for mums and babies is always our priority. 

“Thanks to our neonatal and maternity colleagues’ willingness to go the extra mile for the people they care for, all our families can be reassured that they will be able to have their babies at Worthing over the coming months and that we will look after them as we normally would.” 

To deal with the midwife shortage, the trust has been recruiting more people to fill these roles in its hospitals.

Ten more midwives are expected to start at Worthing Hospital when they complete their training in October.