From the Guardian today, the above and:

Up to 20 maternity units in England will have to shut to ensure mothers and babies receive safe care amid shortages of doctors and rising caesarean section rates, an NHS leader has warned. Matthew Hopkins, the NHS Alliance’s director for acute care, said centralising childbirth services into fewer hospitals was “inevitable” and the “right thing”, but would lead to a political backlash against unpopular changes.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/oct/19/up-to-20-maternity-units-england-shut-nhs-warning-matthew-hopkins

There are no recent public comments from an NHS Scotland leader warning that specific maternity units face permanent closure, comparable to Matthew Hopkins’ statement about up to 20 units in England.

This further highlights the gap between England’s deeply troubled maternity care and that in Scotland repeatedly revealed here:

Hard facts on maternity care: Patient satisfaction at ‘Good’ or Excellent’ stable after 7 years at 90% in Scotland and far more getting care ‘when they needed it’ than in NHS England

No matter how they try Scotland is not having England’s maternity crisis – It’s just a review

If there is a crisis in Scotland’s maternity wards why are negligence pay-outs only a third of those in England and why is the Scotsman report double-counting incidents to get a big headline number?

Nottingham, Sussex, Shrewsbury and now Leeds – Why England’s national maternity scandal is not coming to Perth or anywhere in Scotland