SWINDON Primary Care Trust is putting plans for a dedicated birthing unit at Great Western Hospital on ice.

In a report going to the council's health scrutiny committee next week, the PCT says a lack of information has forced it to halt the project.

The birthing centre was mooted in a review of maternity services in 2004.

The PCT said that it agreed with the review findings and had started investigating different options, including building a new, stand-alone birthing unit at GWH.

The investigation included medical staff and parents touring a similar facility in Ports-mouth.

"A group consisting of professionals and parents visited Portsmouth health community to review their approach to the provision of birthing centres in that area," the report to the council says.

"While the model was viewed positively by service users, the service provider was experiencing increasing difficulty in staffing the units to acceptable levels and with appropriately skilled staff.

"Portsmouth is now reviewing the future of these units."

The report says parents want a stand-alone birthing unit but the most important feature was that it has a "non-hospital" feel.

The PCT said that two reports were being prepared by the Oxford PCT and the Department of Health during in 2008 and 2009.

The report says it wants to wait for that information before going any further.

But it says the trust has not totally abandoned plans for a stand-alone maternity centre run by midwives rather than doctors.

"In light of these important reviews, the Swindon PCT considers it prudent to await their outcomes to inform future direction for maternity services," it says.

"Swindon and Marlborough Trust remain committed to providing pregnant women the choice of consultant-led service or a midwifery-led service within the Great Western Hospital and is keen to work with commissioners to explore the feasibility of developing a service model aligned to those within stand alone birthing centres.

"Once all the reports are available Swindon PCT and Swindon and Marlborough Trust will work together to agree a future model for maternity services."

Health scrutiny committee chairman Peter Stoddart said he was "not disturbed" by the postponement. "I don't think there's any great problem," Coun Stoddart said.

"People are still getting an excellent service from GWH."

He said the committee expected a delegate from the PCT to give further details at the committee meeting on Tuesday (February 27).