HEALTH bosses in Bury are urging people to send in their views on the proposals set to transform maternity and health services before the upcoming deadline.

The Making it Better and Healthy Futures proposals have been undergoing public consultation for the last four months and members of the public have just two weeks left to make their views known.

The controversial Making It Better plans aim to close Fairfield Hospital's maternity department, forcing mothers to travel nine miles or more to the nearest hospital with suitable facilities on site. Unless a mother chooses to have a homebirth, they will no longer have the choice of giving birth in Bury unless the town is later chosen to have a midwife-led birthing unit.

Health chiefs behind the proposals claim the centralisation of maternity departments is necessary to specialise doctor's skills and to stop maternity wards from closing unexpectedly due to staff shortages.

Under Healthy Futures, more than £30 million is being invested in the region bringing hospital services closer to home. In Bury, new health centres are being built and existing ones upgraded to provide a variety of different services under one roof. Stephen Mills, acting chief executive of Bury Primary Care Trust (PCT), said: "The PCT has already engaged with up to 2,000 people within Bury to inform them of the proposals contained within the two consultation documents and their views have been recorded and sent in to inform the process. There is still time for other local people to have their say. It is important for as many local opinions as possible to be registered through the consultation offices.

"The PCT is now poised to prepare its own formal response to the two public consultation documents and the views that have come out of our engagement process will be considered in this."

The deadline for the public response is May 12. To register your views, visit www.bestforhealth.nhs.uk/healthyfutures or call 0161 655 1449/0161 762 3102. The Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority disclosed to the Bury Times earlier this month that it was receiving more than 1,000 letters a day in response to the proposals