HEALTH chiefs have pledged to recruit staff within weeks to help ease staffing maternity unit shortages at Winchester's Royal Hampshire County Hospital (RHCH).

The unit, which last year helped oversee nearly 3,000 births, has been dogged with staffing problems.

Currently there are still five vacancies for midwives at the Florence Portal House unit, but head of midwifery Chris Joyce said interviews would begin within the next few weeks and the vacancies should soon be filled.

A new way of working out funding for the unit should help to ease pressure on staff, she added.

"We were doing a lot more work than we were being paid for," she said.

Last year the Daily Echo reported how midwives had complained of crippling workloads, long hours and a lack of training opportunities.

Overworked midwives were also complaining of bullying, abuse and harassment.

Ms Joyce said these issues were addressed by bullying and harassment training programmes which helped staff focus on working as a team.

Health chiefs have also invested nearly £100,000 on support workers to ease pressure on midwives.

"There is so much good stuff going on here," Ms Joyce said.

New mum Debbie Gray, of Chandler's Ford, who had her daughter Charlotte at the RHCH, said: "The unit has busy times but they have looked after us very well."