The Southern Health Trust is preparing to temporarily suspend inpatient maternity services at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry because it has not been able to recruit enough consultant obstetricians.

Chief executive Steve Spoerry said the move is "more likely than not" as the trust cannot operate a safe maternity service without the required medical cover.

If the suspension goes ahead, all births in the trust area would be transferred to Craigavon Area Hospital, which would absorb about 1,700 additional deliveries a year.

Spoerry acknowledged that Craigavon could cope with the extra births but warned there would be "knock-on effects", including a possible reduction in elective surgical capacity and loss of medical beds.

He said the underlying problem is a shortage of trained obstetricians across Northern Ireland and the UK, and that hospitals further from training centres, such as Daisy Hill, are more affected.

Spoerry also said the trust has asked the Irish health service for help and is still trying to recruit. He rejected claims from SDLP MLA Justin McNulty that it was a deliberate strategy to downgrade the hospital.

Antenatal and postnatal clinics are expected to continue in Newry, but women due to give birth from November may have to travel to Craigavon.

Dr Beverley Adams, divisional medical director for Integrated Maternity and Women's Health at the trust, said affected women will be informed and that the trust has systems in place to manage increased travel times safely.

Last year 1,713 babies were born at Daisy Hill and 2,768 at Craigavon. The trust has become reliant on locum and temporary staff in the maternity unit.

A dedicated information line for concerned patients is open weekdays from 14:00 to 17:00 BST.