HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition demanding that Inverclyde Royal Hospital’s birthing unit should stay open.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde want to close it as part of a £69 million savings package.
Protesters, above, gathered names on a petition at a street stall in Greenock on Saturday.
One of the organisers was nurse Irene O’Brien, vice-chair of Inverclyde Constituency Labour Party, who said the stall went very well.
She said: “We received 646 signatures and more people have offered to sign it since then.
“A lot of interest was shown on Saturday, and some people offered to join in the campaign.
“We were also given email addresses of local organisations that are willing to share our message on social media.
“It was an excellent response, so we are proposing another street stall both in Greenock and Port Glasgow this Saturday.”
There are also plans for a march as another way of allowing the public to show support for the unit.
Campaigners say they want the Scottish Government to stick to the promise made by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in the Tele last November that there would be no centralisation of services out of Inverclyde Royal Hospital.
The health board’s 
controversial plans, however, would force Inverclyde mums to give birth at home or go to hospitals in Paisley or Glasgow.
LibDem councillor Ciano Rebecchi, a veteran campaigner on hospital services, said the health board should remember that IRH is used by people from a wide area around Inverclyde, including Largs, Dunoon and Rothesay.
He said: “The board should bear in mind the extra expense and inconvenience of going to Paisley or Glasgow for people in Inverclyde and beyond.
“We can’t afford to lose any services at IRH.”