Whatever happened to the Birth Centre at Tooting?

[eurochick]

I've heard it has closed and I can see that the website has been taken down. I can't find anything about why though. I thought it was successful?

I had always planned to have my babies there having heard good things about their midwives from friends and I liked the idea that it was right next to but not inside a hospital.

Does anyone know what happened to it and where the midwives that used to practise there have gone?

It is definitely closed and very run down by the looks of it each time I walk past to go my appointments. I found this which may help answer some of your questions:
sites.google.com/site/midwifelouise/

It was run by independent midwives. From next year, it will be illegal of IM to practice without insurance (European Law). There is NO insurance available to Independent midwives. Therefore they will be unable to practice.

Midwives have been fighting this for several years now but have reached the end of the road.

I'm using an independent MW team operating in the area - Yours Maternally. Two of their team used to work there. It went bankrupt due to costs of running the building. Then someone up North took over their contact details, hoping to take on the work & pass it on to local independent MWs, but taking 20% of the profit - that idea went down like a fart in a crowded lift & so now it's totally defunct. I would fully recommend the independent MW route though. This my first pregnancy, EDD, 1/11/11 & the women at Yours Maternally are brilliant - turned this "I want a EC!!!" panicking girl into a calm, confident, hoping for a home birth Mamma to be!