HEALTH campaigner Angela Gray has welcomed the revamp of children's and maternity services - even though it means the loss of front-line facilities she previously fought for.

Angela said the changes, following the Making it Better' review, are "very positive" and will deliver a "better service."

She admitted she will be sorry to see the special care baby unit at Trafford General closed. The unit nursed her baby, Oliver, back to health - prompting her to launch the Oliver's Army campaign in 1997 and save the unit and children's ward from closure.

She said: "I fully support the Making It Better programme. It is a very positive thing. They could not sustain the hospital system as it was.

"I was always going to find the loss of the special care baby unit hard, because I have an emotional attachment to the building. But we can't continue with buildings just because of emotional attachments to them - we have to provide the best possible service for our children and the Making it Better programme does that.

"It is good that a decision has finally been made and we can look forward to a first class service for our children.

"Apart from the loss of the overnight services at the children's ward, I don't see it as a loss for Trafford.

"It is not going to happen overnight, it will be carefully implemented.

"For Trafford, a positive is the increased community nursing team.

"At the end of this we will get a better service."