A couple whose baby died after a 'catalogue of errors' by Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust has started a campaign to stop the government closing hospitals across the country.

Andrew and Rachel Canter chose to have their baby, their first child, at the Edgware Birth Centre, based at Edgware Hospital, because they wanted a natural birth and thought it had a good reputation.

The labour, last October, started well but the Canters' midwife became concerned as the baby's heartbeat dropped and, as a precaution, Mrs Canter was transferred to Barnet Hospital because no doctors are based at the birth centre.

But according to Mr Canter, 39, his wife was instead taken to Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield, because Barnet Hospital's maternity unit was closed, adding another 27 minutes to their journey - during which time she received no medical attention.

And, instead of being taken direct to the operating theatre as had been the plan, Mrs Canter, a 34-year-old personal trainer, was taken to a delivery room and the baby, who they named Jake, was delivered stillborn.

The couple is now taking legal action against the trust on the grounds of negligence.

Mr Canter, the head of an advertising agency, who grew up in Edgware and attended Edgware School, said: "We fell for the softly' approach at the Edgware Birth Centre.

"We knew there was no chance of any medical intervention but the birthing centre said that things rarely went wrong and that, if anything did, they would transfer you to Barnet Hospital which is seven minutes away.

"What they didn't say was that the maternity unit sometimes closes at Barnet because it gets really busy. Had they said that they sometimes transfer to Chase Farm, we probably would not have gone there - and they knew at 10.20pm the night before that Barnet Hospital was closed because it was really busy."

The couple now wants to make people aware of the Government's plans to close up to 60 hospital departments across the country, including accident and emergency and maternity units.

Primary Care Trusts and hospital trusts in Barnet, Camden and Haringey have recently started formal consultation processes into the reconfiguration of services, which may see the eventual closure of some hospital units or even hospitals.

Mr Canter said: "Our campaign is to keep hospitals open, but the other issue is that there is a lot of friction between the midwife community and the medical community but, in this case, the midwives couldn't handle the situation.

"It's about making sure that this doesn't happen to others. It's a national issue, not just an isolated one."

Mr Canter, who lives in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, added: "It takes time to come to terms with the tragedy.

"It's coming up to his first anniversary and there is the frustration that the trust has not come back to us to find out what happened.

"We don't exactly know why Jake died, but I would imagine it's because of beds being full and lack of staff. There was a catalogue of errors. The key is to stop closing hospitals and there needs to be funding in the right place, in the frontline."

A trust spokesman said he could not comment on the case for legal reasons, but added: "We now run the maternity services together across all of our facilities including the Edgware Birth Centre and they are in constant contact with each other, to make sure patients get the best possible care."

For more information visit www.keephospitalsopen.co.uk