Maternity in Menen remains if it depends on the city

These plans are part of the hospital reform of Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit). That plan was criticized in February. The report of the Federal Knowledge Center for Healthcare (KCE) uses a standard of 557 deliveries. A number of, especially smaller, maternities are therefore targeted, because fewer births take place per year than that standard.

Proximity is important

Also in the maternity center of AZ Delta in Menen, fewer than 557 births occur each year. However, the city has now announced that the maternity ward will not close. “Our maternity unit is indeed not the largest in the region,” said Alderman for Social Affairs Angelique Declercq.

“And it is indeed true that more mothers give birth in other hospitals than in Menen. But for a number of Menenaars, the proximity of a maternity center is extremely important.”