A campaign to stop the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Dungannon's South Tyrone Hospital suffered a setback in the High Court in Belfast yesterday. Mr Justice Kerr refused to grant leave for a judicial review of the Southern Health Board's decision and instead adjourned the application for a week.
He said the statement grounding the application needed to be amended and he also required an affidavit dealing with the issue of delay in bringing the case.
The applicant, Ms Martina McCann, from Gortglenaghan Road, Dungannon, is expecting her second child on Thursday. She had hoped the baby would be born at the South Tyrone Hospital but it closes tomorrow and maternity services will transfer temporarily to Craigavon Area Hospital.